Team Tsume
by Xana Vlec
Summary: Secret operations are essential in war; upon them the army relies to make its every move. The Third decided to craft a genin team designed specifically for intel gathering to prevent the civil war rising in Konoha. Will Team Tsume be able to stop the rising storm?
1. Civil War

Swift as the wind  
Quiet as the forest  
Conquer like the fire  
Steady as the mountain

**-Sun Tzu**

Prologue: Civil War

Sarutobi looked out over the village with a sad reflection in his eyes. Konohagakure seemed so peaceful now, but in his bones he could feel it coming. Civil war teemed in the corners of the village and it tainted the serenity. He had been watching it grow inch by inch and step by step. It was to be expected after he took back the reins of Hokage twelve years ago. He sighed gloomily and reached for his pipe. He flicked out a match and watched it burn.

The flame flickered and released a small curl of smoke that dissipated into the air. If only his troubles would go away so easily. He dropped the match into the end of his pipe and let himself relax, if only slightly. The council had been changing over the past few years and he knew it. They were plotting against him while they thought he wasn't looking. He may have been old, but Sarutobi was far from senile.

He just knew his limits. The council could vote away criminals and release them back into the populace even if the evidence was overwhelming. The council could shut away the funds for the entire ninja corps. He was Hokage only to his ninja. He had no control over the economy or the legal department. It was all because of that foolish council.

He inhaled deeply and rubbed a callused hand against his forehead. He needed to find a flaw. Something that could rile the citizens enough to make them turn against the council, but what was there? He knew of his old rival's 'secret' shinobi corps, but that would do him little good. The civilians were all for the perfect protectors of village and if indoctrinating children worked they would do it. After all, the children were not _theirs_.

If it didn't directly impact the civilian families then they would not care a darn for the lives of the ninja that protected him. His eyes widened in recognition. That was it! He raised his arm and snapped his fingers. An ANBU ninja came hurtling into the room and gave a low bow. Sarutobi turned to the man in a dramatic fluttering of his silken robes and said, "Get me Yamanaka Inoichi."

The porcelian masked ANBU gave a low grunt in acknowledgement before shunshining out of the office. The gray haired man paced back and forth across the room in thought. Yes, this was what he needed to turn the populace to his side. Danzou had ROOT, but two could play at that game. A dangerous look entered the Hokage's eyes. "'To know your enemy, you must become your enemy.' Is it?" The man snorted and watched in amusement as the smoke trickled out of his nostrils.

"We'll catch those rats yet." A flicker of blonde tresses caught Sarutobi's eye and he turned to see Yamanaka Inoichi, commander of the Torture and Interrogation department. Sarutobi nodded in welcome to the man, but quickly got to the point. "You'll be jonin sensei to one of the graduating academy teams this year. You've wanted to leave T&I haven't you?"

The blonde haired man scrunched his eyes slightly, "Yes, Hokage-sama. But I must ask why you want to pull me for this position. Not that I'm complaining." He tacked on the last sentence hastily. It was true that with the complete and utter lack of military action in the surrounding countries that T&I had been rather droll lately. Inoichi been primarily an information gatherer by trade, but that didn't necessitate that he act stoic. He'd long found the practice of acting collected attracted much more attention than the fellow that was kind and polite.

However, information gathering was usually a one man job. Infiltration with a dozen troops was like walking into a yakuza lair with a neon sign saying you were a ninja. It just didn't work that way. That was why T&I workers only took one apprentice at a time. Inoichi wasn't foolish enough to overestimate his abilities. His Yamanaka jutsus made him perfect for infiltration and interrogation, but his talents ended just about there. He wasn't particularly adept in taijutsu or ninjutsu though he could fiddle a bit around with genjutsu.

The Hokage chuckled at his companion's response. "Knowledge is power, Yamanaka-san. I trust that you of all people understand that." Sarutobi waved a hand out over the city beside him. "I need to be able to know what goes on in each and every crevice of Konoha. I need to know what the civilians enjoy wearing, what the shinobi think of their squad assignments, and if there are people plotting against me." The man's voice darkened. Inoichi could tell by the frown lines on his face that Sarutobi was serious.

Rebellion was it? The blonde man bit his lip. That would make sense enough for him to infiltrate the jonin groups under the guise of a fellow teacher, but it was no job that another of his students couldn't take. The thought of spying on his own comrades left a queer taste in his mouth. "I hope to avoid another Kirigakure, Yamanaka-san. I'm not blind enough to think that everyone is pleased with my rule." A trickle of smoke left the pipe as Sarutobi snorted in disdain. "I had rather hoped to leave this job behind by now, but it seems that Kami-sama doesn't want that to happen quite yet."

"But why me, Hokage-sama? Wouldn't Anko-san be better suited to the task?"

"She hasn't ever had an apprentice has she? If the genin are to become an intelligence team then it would be best to place them with a practiced sensei." That stopped Inoichi.

"Hokage-sama! You can't seriously be suggesting that **genin** be taught the methods of the **Torture and Interrogation** depart!" The man spluttered at the thought. He knew well enough the fragility of academy students. His mind lingered briefly on his own daughter before shaking his head. He couldn't imagine teaching Ino how to interrogate. The brutality of his own job had kept him from ever bringing his daughter within a kilometer of his workplace. To be given the duty of teaching children her age the techniques which he had hidden from his kin just seemed to be too much.

Sarutobi held up a hand to silence the jonin before continuing, "I will not require you to teach them torturing techniques until you think they are ready. I'm looking for the formation of a team based on intel gathering and strategic planning. You are the one best suited for the job are you not? I've seen you play shogi, Yamanaka-san. Even Nara-san hasn't been able to beat you yet."

That was true. Inoichi was still being pestered by the elder Nara for a shogi rematch after he had lost the last time. However, just because it was true didn't mean that he didn't have to enjoy it. "I trust you accept this mission, Yamanaka-san?" Inoichi nodded dully and gazed at his robed commander. If the Hokage had gone directly to the top looking for a jonin sensei, things had to be bad. That was all he really had to know.

"Good." Sarutobi turned back to his desk and picked up a thick stack of files. "These are the files on all of the graduating students. Knowing you though..." He dropped the files onto the desk with a thump and a flicker of a smile appeared on his face. "You'll ignore every word in them won't you? Potential isn't something that can be expressed in words after all. I'll let the academy chuunins know that they should expect your arrival soon. They'll co-operate with anything you ask of them. Within reason of course."

Inoichi blushed sheepishly. He supposed it really was necessary to say it was within reason, but it still embarrassed him to think of his early jonin days. He had always been particular with his words and anything meant **anything**. It was amusing watching the academy teachers stand on the side of the building for a few hours to 'demonstrate' chakra control. Sarutobi had really reprimanded him for that one.

"Of course, Hokage-sama." Inoichi bowed at the waist before turning back to the door. He twisted the handle and silently made his way down the corridors. He gazed out the windows at the training grounds below. It was convenient that the academy building housed the Hokage's office. It gave him a good change to look at the trainees. He supposed that he was lucky to be able to pick his own students, not many jonin had that opportunity.

He slid open a glass door and stepped out onto the wooden balcony to watch the proceedings. They were participating in taijutsu matches, but Inoichi saw the matches to be of little consequence. There were going to be three types of people in the crowd: the natural information gatherers, the self-occupied narcissists, and the clueless.

The first would be his prime choice among the students. In genin groups it was fairly easy to tell which naturally sought to obtain knowledge. Being twelve, students normally had very little training in being inconspicuous. Either they would take the loud approach and force themselves into the lives of those around them to figure things out or they would sit off in the corner and observe. Inoichi was personally the former and had always had trouble dealing with the silent types of which Ibiki was a prime example.

The motley group of 48 students was huddled around their sensei with the majority clinging onto his words as if they were gold. Mentally, Inoichi was already crossing out names on the list of students. The Inuzuka boy was loud, but it wasn't the right type of loud. He was the type that would explode with little to no warning and would promptly forget to try and remember information he was sent out to get. He was of the third type, the clueless.

They generally were bundles of endless energy with not a care in the world for learning. They made for talented taijutsu specialists, but for information gathering they were little demons. Even Anko was keen on the subtle nuances of stealth. It was a sad world where narcissists could prove to be valuable, but it was true.

Narcissists conventionally compared everyone around them to themselves. They were paranoid of anyone ever showing them up and kept tabs to make sure it would never happen. It was a trait that lent itself quite well to intel gathering. Inoichi's eyes trailed around the group until he caught sight of a black tuft of hair. His eyes narrowed as he stared at the boy, Sasuke Uchiha.

The boy was a narcissist to the very bone and yet managed to conjure up nearly a thousand female followers, one of which was his own daughter. It was a source of pain Inoichi could never fail to draw upon. Sasuke may have been a talent for the sake of his sharingan, but Inoichi knew that the council would never allow their **dear Sasuke** to be stuck in a hole interrogating people. He sighed and continued looking among the crowd.

The three man squad would be a reverse restriction for him. Finding one student worthy of his attention would be difficult, but three? Three would be a complete nightmare to fulfill especially since one had to be a girl. Girls naturally just didn't care. If the information didn't fall into their small circle then they wouldn't seek it out.

Out of the class of 48 there were 11 girls. From the 11 girls there were 5 that were going into their civilian duties at the end of graduation. All of this meant that the pot of girls he could choose from was small. Inoichi clicked his tongue in annoyance. Six girls and one of which was his own daughter. Inoichi knew he couldn't possibly take Ino under his wing as a sensei. He'd be too light on her and would favor her immensely.

He shook his head. He really only had five options for his squad: Okada Rei, Yamasaki Mai, Hyuuga Hinata, Haruno Sakura, and Shimizu Kei. His eyes latched onto the pinkette who was eagerly cheering on her beloved in the fighting ring. Unless she had been professionally trained, Inoichi somehow doubted that she would have any skill in interrogation. Ino spoke of Sakura as being an _annoyingly smart girl with a large forehead_ _who tries to compete with me for Sasuke-kun_.

Over the years Inoichi began to tell the difference between being smart and being wise. To be smart all the person had to do was read a book and memorize the text on the page. To be wise you had to read beyond the words and only then could a person really understand what was being said. Haruno Sakura could have potential, but he'd have to see if she was wise or merely smart.

The girl beside Sakura was a petite little thing. The girl had curly blonde hair that concealed most of her face from view. It was painfully obvious that she didn't even want to be a ninja. With every strike Sasuke made, the girl flinched as if she was being attacked. Inoichi made a note to cross Yamasaki Mai off the list. If she couldn't put up with watching a fight then there was no way she could successfully infiltrate anywhere of substance without worrying herself to death.

Hyuuga Hinata was only slightly better in that regard. Inoichi had met with the girl on one of her rare trips outside of the Hyuuga compound. She was a dear soul, but she wouldn't be able to develop as long as she stood by her morals like a rod. Being a ninja meant you had to throw away that part of your humanity called your conscience. You had to be able to do things that could crush countries and kill thousands. Knowledge was one of the tools that could prove to be deadly within moments of obtaining it. The Hyuuga just didn't have the mental strength to keep herself from buckling from the pressure.

Okada Rei sat towards the front of the crowd with her legs crossed. She peered forth with interest as she watched the two boys exchange blows. Inoichi was sure it was impossible for her not to have a headache with how much her neck kept on stretching to keep track of the dueling boys. He watched with amusement as the girl smothered the screaming fangirl beside her to get the girl to shut up. It appeared the girl had talent in observation, but her interest quickly dwindled when it came to anything that was not a battle technique. There was a faint hope though.

Inoichi searched the crowd for the last girl. It was only after a few moments he realized she wasn't a part of the mass surrounding the two fighters. His blue eyes scanned the field from above until he caught sight of the maroon haired girl. She sat silently in her tree perch with a small gray notebook in her hand. Golden eyes stared down at the hoard of boys and girls while a hand scratched notes on the flimsy paper.

Shimizu Kei was it? Inoichi quirked a brow at the girl and decided that this one would deserve a closer look. He pushed off from the balcony and headed back into the hallway. He side stepped past secretaries running to and fro and made his way to the stairwell. The man sauntered slowly down the stairs and pushed open the large doors to the academy. Blonde hair trailed behind him as he headed towards the back of the building to continue watching the proceedings.

Muffled cheers met his ears and Inoichi was greeted with the sight of a cocky Uchiha smirking over his fallen opponent. Inoichi's eyes widened for a moment when he realized who the boy was. Uzumaki Naruto. The blonde boy was hunched over on the ground before getting back up in a flash and shouted insults back at the crowd around him.

Naruto was a sort of pet to the T&I department. Inoichi had performed not only one, but six different psych evaluations on the boy by order of the council. He was sure the council was trying to find some sort of instability within the boy in order to have him locked up in some dungeon. Inoichi rather liked the boy despite his initial misgivings. Naruto was only a child after all and he was not at fault for the Kyuubi within him. It was nearly impossible to dislike the boy after spending nearly a hundred hours with him.

Well, perhaps Inoichi could admit to hating the orange jumpsuit. A smile grew on his lips as he made his way to the back of the group. "Papa! What are you doing here?" A small bundle of energy tackled him and Inoichi wrapped his arms around the form. Ino would always be his little princess no matter how annoying she found it that he doted on her in public. "Ew, lemme go!"

"I just have to talk with your instructor for a moment, Ino dear." He rubbed a hand across her hair and promptly messed up an hour's worth of preparation. He ignored his daughter's squawks and headed over to the chuunin that was trying to separate the arguing boys. "Iruka-san! May I have a moment?"

The brunette turned sharply to look at Inoichi before relaxing slightly. "Ah, Yamanaka-san. One moment, please." He turned to the squabblers and gave a quick reprimand before pulling Inoichi to the side. "Is there anything you need?"

"I have to select my own genin team. I trust I have your co-operation over the next few hours for some... tests to run the children through?" Iruka looked towards the clock and mentally noted the time as only being 1pm. They still had a good four hours before the academy would dismiss for the day. He nodded back to the jonin in compliance.

"Good, good. So this is how it'll work..."

Iruka coughed into his fist to bring his class into attention. After garnering the attention of the students he waved towards Inoichi to have him step forward. "Class, this is Yamanaka-san. He's a proud jonin of Konoha and he's here to evaluate all of you for your potential as shinobi. Will all of you that plan on pursuing shinobi careers step off to the right? All that plan on becoming civilians stay seated and we'll set you up with supplementary classes in other subjects."

The man smiled as a majority of the class shifted to the right. It was his pride as a teacher that so many of his students wanted to become shinobi. A good teacher could make the arts seem interesting compared to a teacher that would drive all his students into becoming civilians. He'd done his best over the past two years to mentor his students and he couldn't help but feel that they'd become the backbone of the next generation.

"Alright, I'll take the future civilians off to some of the other instructors. I'll be back in a moment, but feel free to use the time to get to know Yamanaka-san." The chuunin began herding the 20 civilians back towards the academy. He cast a wayward glance over his shoulder and hoped the kids wouldn't swarm his friend. They had a bad tendency to do that.

Little did Iruka know that his premonition would turn out to be entirely true. "You're a jonin? Jonin must be weaker than I thought they were." Inoichi twitched a brow. "Why is your hair so long? You look a lot like a girl. Hey Ino, why does your dad look like a woman? Is he really male?" A fist clenched. "I bet he must be a reject jonin. Ya know they normally only send genin teams over here. He must have really screwed up recently." Blue eyes flashed dangerously at the kids.

Worried looks were shot his way as the man began radiating overeager amounts of killer intent at them. Inoichi had known that kids could be brats, but some part of him had hoped that by twelve they'd have the annoying trait hammered out of him. He was wrong. How dare that girl insult his masculinity? Haruno Sakura was it? No matter how talented she was, Inoichi was going to make sure she went through hell today.

"Yamanaka-sensei!" Inoichi cut off the killer intent and looked at the producer of the cheery voice. He smiled slightly at the blonde boy and reached out to pat him on the head. "Hello Naruto-kun." Inoichi took in a deep breath and let himself calm down before turning back to the children that were quivering in fear. The boy always did have a relaxing effect upon all the T&I department. After a long day of dealing with S Class murderers and assassins, the boy was a breath of fresh air.

Inoichi shot warning looks at the other students that began gossiping about the boy. He had to admit that he had originally been on the 'get rid of the demon container' bandwagon and he dearly regretted it. "Alright. There are 28 of you here, correct?" He waited for them to bob their heads up and down before continuing, "Everyone split up into groups of 3 and the odd one out can be added into a group as the fourth member. Now go."

In his heart he was cackling at the glorious revenge he was having upon the Uchiha boy. Everyone was practically climbing over the boy in an attempt to become his partner and by the time the team building was over the boy was covered in scratches. Inoichi concealed a smile and was disappointed to find Naruto the one left out. He sighed softly before placing the boy into a group with Shikamaru. The boy was definitely kind enough to not try and harass Naruto during the exercise.

"Alright, now that you're all in groups I'll introduce the exercise." He coughed for emphasis, "Being a ninja is not all about running about with kunai firing off in every which way. Have you ever thought who makes the mission files? Ninja are always being sent out for reconnaissance missions. These missions are just as important as the assaults themselves. If a single detail is left out it can cost the lives of everyone in the team after them."

"You are all about to become genin, but that doesn't mean you should be relying on others as if they were crutches. If another team has put misinformation in your file you have to be prepared. That is why we are always told to expect the unexpected. Without information we cannot successfully plan counterstrikes against the enemy. During your shinobi career you'll be sent on many intel gathering missions yourselves. This exercise is in preparation for that."

"I'll admit. Some of you will catch onto this faster than others, but it is equally important for all of you." Inoichi shot a calculating look at the students. Some of them were reclining on the ground and appeared to be completely ignoring his speech. He'd have to remedy that. "Because after all," Inoichi put his hands together and quickly formed hand signals for a genjutsu. "You can't ever trust your first impressions."

"**Genjutsu: Kasumi Jūsha no Jutsu.**" He enjoyed the shock that danced across their faces as his genjutsu came into effect. Dozens of clones made their way out from behind him and began floating hazily in the air. They retained his form, but in the genjutsu their skin grew black as well as their hair. Their red eyes glowed for a moment before they all ran towards the students. He raised his hands to dispel the technique but someone beat him to it.

"Kai." The students were all quivering, albeit some hid it better than others, save for one. At the back of the crowd the maroon haired girl had her hand formed into a dissipation seal. Her golden eyes were sharpened as she stared at Inoichi. Inoichi had to say he was impressed. Though he had only pumped in meager amounts of chakra, he hadn't expected one of the students to respond so quickly to an unknown jutsu.

Kei flipped open her notebook and scrolled towards the back before asking, "Name of genjutsu?" It took him a few moments to register the question before mumbling, "**Kasumi Jūsha no Jutsu.**" She scribbled down the words in her journal before sitting back down and looking at the blonde with muted interest.

Eventually the other students did the same and Inoichi continued his speech, "Information gathering is two sided. Enemies are likely to come after you as genin because of loud lips." He looked pointedly at some of the boys before continuing, "I'll be setting all of you up with the same scenario in which one person is going to be given a word that they have to avoid saying. The others in the group will try and convince them to say the word. As simple as this may seem, it isn't. Sometimes you know information in the field, but you need to confirm it before submitting it in your report."

"You may not use force to get the other students to say the word. If I see anyone being threatened their group will be given detention later. Understood? Good. The word is **river**." Inoichi stepped up to the student and gently patted a few of them on the head. "Inuzuka-san, Uzumaki-san, Uchiha-san, Hyuuga-san, Ino-chan, Kimura-san, and Hanagaki-san will be the ones you will be interrogating to try and get them to say the word. The seven of you must keep in mind that you have to answer all question. You cannot simply ignore the others or grunt unintelligibly in response."

He noticed the glare sent at him by the Uchiha, but chose to ignore it. "Begin. I'll be watching you all and if I see one group need advice I'll try and give it. You have an hour for this exercise."

-TSUME-

"This'll be way too easy! Give it your best shot, but you ain't gonna get me to say that word in a million years!" Kiba huffed proudly. All he had to do was not say a particular word? That was no sweat! This sensei had no clue what he was doing if he was giving them an entire hour for such a silly exercise.

"Kiba-san, can you remind me where the Inuzuka compound is? It's in the western district isn't it? Is it the house with the fences around the back?" Mai murmured to the loud boy beside her. She wasn't quite sure how she got herself caught up in this mess, but it was good to try right?

"No, no, no! That's the Nara compound! Instead of taking a right at the fork you take a left and head down the **river**!" Kiba nodded proudly at his directions before he realized that his group had fallen into complete silence. "AH CRAP!"

-TSUME-

Naruto looked at his group rather nervously for once. He had gotten put into the four person group along with Shimizu, Nara, and Akimichi. "How troublesome." The spiky haired boy sighed before drawling, "What are some blue things?"

Naruto scrunched his face. What on earth did that have to do with anything? "The sky?" He looked at Chouji who shrugged in return. Apparently the boy had no clue what was going on either. He offered Naruto a chip before going back to munching on his snacks.

"Actually not. The sky is just reflecting colors back at us. Try again." Kei caught a glance from Shikamaru and gave him a small nod. She knew what was going on now. Two man support would make the job easier for him. Perhaps he would get this done quickly and be able to sleep off the rest of the hour.

Kei had always been pleasantly quiet. He'd met her a few months ago during one of his daily cloud gazing sessions. She hadn't asked what he was doing or pestered him about why he slept so often. She had just sat beside him and wrote in that notebook again. The notebook had always been a point of interest to him. She'd shown him the contents ones, but unfortunately it was written completely in a cypher of some sort.

"Erm... My eyes?" Naruto asked hopefully. It was almost depressing to put him down again, but rules were rules.

"There is no blue pigmentation in your eyes. The color comes from reflected wavelengths much in the same way the sky is. Try again." Kei's monotone was slightly disturbing, but Naruto also took it as a challenge. She obviously thought that he couldn't find anything that was inherently blue. He'd show her. Now for blue things...

"How about water?" He puffed himself up with an eager grin on his face. He totally had her this time.

"Water in small quantities is normally considered to be colorless. When drinking a glass of water you can see right through it without registering it as blue." Shikamaru drawled back with a gleam in his eye. This was an elaborate game. It was so different from all of the troublesome things Iruka had taught them about chakra control and taijutsu. This was moderately interesting.

"Small quantities eh? Hm...How about a lake?"

"Since water doesn't move in the lake it starts collecting algae and it turns a deep murky green color. Can't you even find anything in the world that's blue? I expected more." The corner of Kei's mouth curved up in a smile. The well placed goad could trick people into doing almost anything.

"Agh! I can to find something that's blue! Large quantity of moving water... Um um... A **river**! That's it! You can't complain now can you?"

Kei and Shikamaru exchanged looks before saying, "Game over, Uzumaki-san."

"EHHHH?"

-TSUME-

Iruka looked over at Inoichi. The man was watching the four person group with an eager gleam in his eyes. "Have you found someone you like?" He followed his companion's gaze over to Naruto. The boy was waving his hands about in a flailing mess and shouting in frustration much to his group's amusement.

"Even better, Iruka-san. I've found all three of them." The red clad jonin dug through his rucksack for a moment before pulling out some crumpled papers. He smoothed out the rumpled sheets before fishing out a pen and scribbling down the names: Nara Shikamaru, Shimizu Kei, and Uzumaki Naruto.

"Naruto-kun? But he wasn't even able to conceal the information you gave him!" Iruka exclaimed. From what he had seen Naruto had very little talent in concealment much less information gathering. Stealth probably wasn't in the boy's vocabulary with the way he was dressing in the vibrantly orange jumpsuit.

"He has a future in interrogation. Not all interrogation is done by scaring the victim out of its wits you know. Look at them. Look at them all carefully, Iruka-san." Iruka turned back to the four. Shikamaru had a hand over his mouth and was barely holding back a laugh. Kei was edging away from the rambunctious blonde with an incredulous look on her face. And lastly Chouji was flat out laughing at the boy's temper tantrum much to the said boy's annoyance. It was the picture of youth where everyone was happy. It almost could make a person forget about the world of war outside. All the hatred and sadness was gone and for a moment there was only joy.

"He has the ability to make people smile. That's more than a lot of us can say unfortunately."

**Awkward moment where you're afraid of your readers because you think they'll be out to butcher you for starting a new story... In my defense I had a totally random idea while my life flashed before my eyes. I... Got into a car accident yesterday. It was a hit and run actually. Here I was sitting in the back seat of the car and WAM a ford pickup truck went smack dab into my side of the car. Dang it scared me... They caught the fellow, but I had to sit in the car for an hour for the Sheriff to do its stuff. So I ended up coming up with a plot idea! Neat, huh?**

**Pardon all the useless OC's in the story. In the canon there just weren't enough female characters to use for making selections. And I even used an OC to take the girl spot on Team Tsume! Please don't hurt me. I have my reasons for this. One being that Sakura(I love the girl mind you) just isn't the type to have her own intel circuit. I didn't want to make this complex backstory about her parents getting killed and she knew about it so she went into information gathering to avenge her parents death, ect. Too cliche. **

**The real action will begin next so this was kind of a prologue. I might update slowly since I want to get to ten pages on my word doc for each update. It'll be some sort of record for me since I normally only do 5 pages. O_o **

**I wonder if I can get a single review within four chapters. (dreamlike state)  
Also I'm gonna shorten my Author's notes... This was just for a rant. /win  
Disclaimer: I do not own any characters in the Naruto universe. The OCs(Mai, Kei, Rei, Kimura, Hanagaki) belong to me though. **

**Genjutsu: Kasumi Jūsha no Jutsu | A D rank mist clone genjutsu. Whenever anyone strikes one of the clones they will separate and add to the number of said clones. They are conventionally black or dark in coloring. **


	2. The Forbidden Scroll

When torrential water tosses boulders, it is because of its momentum. When the strike of a hawk breaks the body of its prey, it is because of timing.  
**-Sun Tzu**

Chapter One: The Forbidden Scroll

Naruto squirmed in his seat uncomfortably. It was finally the exam day and he was nervous. Rightfully so, the boy knew he was failing a majority of his classes. It was a mercy that those grades didn't count. Only the final exam had the power to hold a student back for another year. That meant he absolutely could not mess up this time. He ran over the hand signs for the various jutsu they had taught him over the years.

He rather hoped the graduating jutsu would be a henge. He could at least pull that one off if rather shabbily. It was true that his henge made him appear to be a rather short person of indeterminate gender, but it was much better than his bunshin. His bunshin were for lack of any other way to describe them, piles of goop. He had spent weeks privately training to try and refine the jutsu, but all he had managed was his sexy jutsu.

It wasn't bad by any means, but even he had to admit it was a wee bit conspicuous. If one couldn't walk around town in an orange jumpsuit without attracting attention, it would be impossible while walking around like that. He sighed dejectedly and laid his head on the desk before him. Maybe Iruka and Mizuki would give him a break and let him pass. He snorted. As if they would ever do that.

The red bell over the door rung sharply, signaling the beginning of class. At the front of the room Iruka cleared his throat. "Today is going to be a momentous occasion for most of you I'm sure. Four long years of studying have all been to prepare you for this, the graduation exam. Mizuki-sensei and I will be standing outside of those doors," Iruka signaled towards the doorway behind him, "to perform your exam. We'll be calling you all in alphabetical order. Please don't tell the other students what happened inside the room until all the examinations are over. Best of luck to all of you!"

Uzumaki was unfortunately rather far down in the alphabet. Naruto fidgeted in his seat for nearly two hours before Mizuki called him in. He hopped out of his chair and dashed into the room with an eager grin. It would do him not good to worry his head over it. When he looked felt nervous the villagers could always sense it and it made things twice as bad.

The room was rather blank inside. There was only one table at which Mizuki and Iruka both sat. A box sat on the ground beside them and Naruto could see the blue material of a headband poking out from the side. His heart fluttered a bit at the thought. The life of a ninja had always intrigued him though he would admit to the ulterior motive of escaping the village. Nothing was better than the feeling when adrenaline pulsed through his veins. That was why he had begun his pranking all those years ago.

The ANBU were great fun to play with though they didn't know it. Naruto liked to take good care of his friends and made sure he knew everything about them. A book said that you couldn't really be friends with someone until you really knew him. So he had memorized the ANBU patrol patterns and the characteristics that matched ANBU to their masks. Eagle and Hawk were probably his favorites. They were the ones that were conventionally sent out to retrieve him after one of his pranks was revealed.

Oh goodness. Naruto giggled a bit at the memory of the Hokage Monument. Eagle and Hawk had taken a good four hours to find him after that fiasco. Naruto didn't find the actual action of vandalism all that interesting. He thought the reactions people made were absolutely priceless. The Hokage Monument was the biggest calling card he could give and he was satisfied. If he became a ninja he'd have to stop his pranking temporarily. Having a sensei meant he could be punished. The old man Hokage was a bit lenient in that regard.

He sauntered up to the table and gave the two men a mock salute and barked out, "Uzumaki Naruto reporting for examination!" He flashed a cheesy smile for emphasis. Iruka groaned in response and rubbed a hand against his forehead.

"That's enough, Naruto-kun. For your examination you'll have to do a bunshin. Preferably the bunshin would look identical to you, but just try to get one formed." Naruto nodded enthusiastically and put his hands together into the hand signs and yelled, "**Bunshin no Jutsu!**" A billowing cloud of smoke filled the room. Mizuki wheezed as the smoke filled his lungs and waved his hand to try and clear the room. It took them a few moments for the visibility to clear and when Mizuki looked down he had a dumbstruck look on his face.

The pile of goop on the floor stared back up at him with swampy green eyes. Mizuki poked the multicolored gelatinous mass with his pen before exchanging a glance with Iruka. "It was a good effort..." There wasn't much else to say about the creature. It was orange, yellow, green, black, and purple, the definition of nightmarish. Mizuki was sure it could pass off for a swamp monster.

Iruka had gears turning in his head. He knew that Inoichi was planning on taking Naruto on as his student, but passing him with **that** would be beyond his morals as a teacher. "Iruka-san, can I talk to you for a moment?" Mizuki tapped Iruka on the shoulder and motioned to the back of the room. Iruka scooted out of his chair and joined Mizuki with a questioning look on his face.

"I could give him a supplementary field exam. You know, like the ones they did during the shinobi war?" Iruka remembered those with utter loathing. The Hokage had mass graduation exams where they had chuunin set out traps by the hundreds to test future genin. It was an efficient way of test taking, but it was also incredibly dangerous for the student. Naruto had always proven himself during training regimines so perhaps they'd manage that way...

Iruka thought for a moment longer before nodding his head in approval. "Alright, Mizuki-san. We'll tell Naruto that we're going to give him the results of his exam later on and that there is another part for him to complete. Do whatever you like for the supplement and inform me of the results when you are done. You can go with him now and I'll finish the rest. There aren't too many after all."

Mizuki grinned slyly before heading back to the table. "Naruto-kun, come with me. There's a second part of the exam for you to complete, ok?" The unknowing blonde nodded eagerly and headed out the doors with Mizuki. A part of him was suspicious of this second exam as he had not seen any of the other kids take it, but the other part reassured him that this was his sensei. His sensei would never do anything to mislead him, right?

He tottered out behind the man and to the outside of the building. He plopped down on the ground and looked up expectantly at his sensei. The white haired man had a small smirk on the corners of his lips. That was the first red flag. "Naruto-kun, Iruka and I have decided to allow you a supplementary exam to try and boost your scores up for graduation. The chance for a supplement is completely up to the teachers so in collaboration with the Hokage we set up a challenge for the lucky student. Inside the Hokage tower there will be a large scroll with kanji written around the center. Your job is to put into practice all the stealth lessons we have been teaching you and take the scroll. I'll be waiting out in the forest for you to deposit the scroll at 6pm tonight. You had better hurry."

That was the second red flag. Sneaking into the Hokage tower was a criminal offense, even Naruto knew that. He did realize that without this supplementary exam he wouldn't be able to become a ninja. Naruto tilted his head to the side for a moment before bursting out, "Sure, Mizuki-sensei! I'll be sure to get it for ya!"

He got up from the ground and bounded off the grounds. He'd need help to pull this one off. All of his pranks had gotten through without a hitch because no one protected the places he attacked. He was perfectly good at evasion, but infiltration required at least some knowledge on the place. No jonin was willing to come near him, much less talk to him. That meant he'd have to talk to the smartest genin that he knew.

He flew through the academy grounds in a made search for his comrades. Their names hadn't been called much earlier than his had been and with any luck they'd be hanging around for a bit longer. He skidded along the battle grounds and found his targets. A mop of black hair was poking out from the edge of a tree and a maroon tangle was pushing through the leaves. "Kei-chan! Shikamaru-san!"

Naruto rested a hand on the trunk and caught his breath before gasping out, "I need your help."

Shikamaru grumbled out a troublesome before opening his eyes to glance at the blonde lazily. "So? What is it?" He didn't particularly enjoy being interrupting in his afternoon nap, especially since he had finally gotten out of that blasted academy for a half day. He had decided to take the day in moderation and tack on another four hours of sleep before heading home. His parents didn't have to know it was a half day after all.

The boy beside him had managed to squirm his way into Shikamaru's life with little to no effort. He wasn't a true loud mouth like Ino. There was something a bit different about him. Maybe it was his uncanny ability to know when people were about to get really ticked off?

"Mizuki-sensei gave me a supplemental examination to help boost my scores enough to graduate. However," A gleam entered Naruto's eyes, "he didn't say I had to complete my mission without assistance. Basically I have to sneak something out of the Hokage Tower. Will you two help me? I mean, I can do the retrieving, but I don't really know the layout of the Tower and planning ain't really my strong point..." He scratched the back of his head sheepishly and looked at the two of them with pleading eyes.

Shimizu bit her lip for a moment before releasing a sigh. She closed her notebook with a loud snap and slipped down the backside of the tree. "Fine. Sit." She put a hand on Naruto's head and shoved him down to the ground before sitting next to Shikamaru. "I'm only going to explain this once so listen carefully."

"The Hokage Tower is positioned completely on a single floor. While this is true it is set up in a formation which requires someone to go through both the secretarial hall and the jonin dormitories to find the entrance to the main office." Shimizu flipped towards the back of her notebook before showing Naruto a picture of the complex. It was shabbily drawn, but considering her lack of intel it was incredibly detailed.

"The dormitories conventionally house three to four jonin at any time during the day. They have postings on the wall near the entrance showing who is supposed to be on duty on any certain time. The secretarial hall is normally a cloud of chaos considering all the paperwork that goes on in Konoha. After getting through both chambers the route to the office is pretty clear. Keep in mind that the hallway has windows on the righthand side so anyone can see you from the outside."

"The door is locked with a conventional turnkey system. It shouldn't be too hard to open to be perfectly honest. ANBU are stationed all around the Hokage, but keep in mind that they only surround the **Hokage**. When he leaves his office there will be an opening. I don't know where this scroll of yours is located, but I assume it would be in the library towards the back of the room. You can either take it and run out the door the way you came or head out the side window. It's a two story jump, but you should live if you slide off the shingles."

Shimizu looked up at Naruto to see the boy was completely floored. His jaw hung limply as he stared at the image on the paper before him. He had expected for her to have a basic layout of the place since she practically knew the average heart rate for every civilian in Konoha, but this was unexpected. "Don't look surprised. This is all I'm good for anyways." She muttered in a low grumble. Naruto looked up at her incredulously. Did she read minds too?

"This is incredible, Kei-chan! Thank you so much!" He wrapped her in a quick hug much to her displeasure. She coughed for a moment before he let her go with a grin on his face. He turned to Shikamaru with a glimmer in his eye.

"How troublesome, now the idiot expects something great from me too. Would it have killed you to lower his expectations?" Shikamaru drawled. It came out muffled because of the hand he laid over his face, but it didn't prevent Shimizu's scoff from reaching his ears.

He sat up from the tree and crossed his legs. He cupped his hands and put them together in his thinking posture. He found that the pose always calmed his mind. His mother said it got 'the creative juices flowing'.

The information that Shimizu gave him flowed through his mind. He recalled the skill sets that Naruto had. Taking that into account he lost twenty three scenarios which would have ended in success. "Uzumaki-san, you make regular trips to the Hokage don't you?" Naruto tilted his head to the side and nodded confusedly.

"Shimizu-san, where is the nearest bathroom to the Hokage's office located? Also what is the age of the Third?"

"Approximately nine meters away from the entrance to his office. It's a single bathroom and the only other one is on the other side of the complex. The Hokage is 68." Shimizu shot back the answer with hardly a seconds thought.

Shikamaru nodded and turned to Naruto once more. "I have a plan."

-TSUME-

Naruto stood outside the academy building and took in a deep breath. He headed through the doors and slipped towards the restroom. This was so nerve-wracking! Mizuki had better give him full credit for this one. He entered the room and locked the door with a click. He took out the small bag that Shikamaru had given him and placed the black wig on his head. He fumbled around in the bag a bit longer before pulling on a jonin uniform.

"_Look, Uzumaki-san. You're going to need to look like you belong there. I know you can't henge well so I'll sneak you one of my father's jonin uniforms. The Henge no Jutsu is a ninjutsu despite the word of mouth that it is a genjutsu. I need you to focus your henge on body growing. Try and fit into the uniform and make yourself a bit taller. One of the names on the list is Sarutobi Asuma. I've played shogi with him before so I'll give you what you need to try and copy his appearance. Listen closely._

He looked around nervously before whispering, "**Henge no Jutsu**." A small puff of smoke surrounded him for a moment before fading away. The Naruto before him was taller and bulkier. The fox whiskers on his face still remained, but thank goodness Shikamaru had a remedy.

_Shimizu will buy some make up for you to get rid of the whisker marks. She'll also buy you some contacts to change your eye color. You'll owe us for this though I suppose it will be worth it for you._

He took out the makeup cautiously before dabbing some of the powder over his marks. It was rather feminine, but it was for the headband. He flipped close the compact before storing it back in the bag. He took out the contact case and screwed open the lid. He fished around for the contact lense before chirping happily when he found it. He leaned towards the mirror and hesitated for a moment before putting the film in his eye.

He shuddered before putting in the second contact. They were really strange. The idea of poking his eye for recreation didn't seem that appealing to him at all. He screwed the lids back close and stuck the case into the bag. Lastly, he pulled out a beard wig and a metal senbon. He tied the wig around his chin and stuck the senbon in his mouth. Naruto looked at himself in the mirror for a moment before grinning. He squawked and scrambled to pick up his dropped senbon.

He huffed dejectedly before putting the senbon back in his mouth. He picked up the bag and walked out the academy doors and dropped it by the edge of the walkway. He looked up and met eyes with Shikamaru. He quirked a bit of a smile before giving a lazily salute.

_Sarutobi Asuma isn't energetic like you, Uzumaki-san. That'll be the biggest change for you. Tone down your personality and keep to mild sarcasm. The fewer words the better. Don't stop to make small talk with everyone. The faster you go the better. Say you have a mission report to give to the Hokage Sarutobi came back from a mission yesterday so it's partially true anyways. Shimizu will run interception on him. She knows enough shogi to make her interesting enough for an hour or two. You have that long to get in and out._

He turned back to the building and headed up the stairwell. The corridor only felt smaller and smaller the longer Naruto stayed there. He felt like his life was being squeezed out and it terrified him. Perhaps it was just the nerves. He passed a secretary on the way up and immediately sidestepped the woman. He wasn't stupid. He knew his henge wasn't professional quality and anymore stress through surface tension could easily snap his concentration.

He reached the top and pushed open the doors. This would be the first challenge, the secretarial hall. Cubicles were strewn about the room and dozens of men and women were shuffling around the room in a frenzy. In his disguise he was sure getting through the crowd wouldn't be too bad, but there were too many people he could run into. It was an obstacle course for goodness sakes!

He swallowed nervously before stepping into the room. He ducked in and out of the pages running to and fro. His eyes widened as he felt a boy ram into his side. He stumbled to the ground for a moment. He clamped a hand down on his hair to keep the wig from slipping. Naruto turned and glared at the boy behind him. The senbon squeaked between his teeth as he bit down angrily on it. He stood up and let another wave of chakra go out to keep the henge sustained. It was a miracle that he had sense the boy running or the shock would have dispelled the jutsu.

He brushed off the imaginary dust before turning away from the unapologetic teen. He finally made the journey to the other end of the hall. He let go of the breath he didn't realize he had been holding. The hall was his main worry henge wise. Now all he'd have to do was survive the jonin dormitories and he'd be mostly home free.

He pushed open the doors and stepped into the dorm. Bunk beds filled the room with only small cabinets for personal belongings. He turned to the side of the room to look at the sign in list on the walls.

_Sarutobi-san has a fairly simple signature. It's his name in caps with an A layering over the o. You'll need to sign in for the jonin dormitory list. Sign in for the next hour and then continue on through. It's just to register that you are there and not a threat. Don't hesitate in signing it or one of the other jonin might notice you._

Naruto picked up the pen dangling alongside the list and scrawled the signature onto the paper. It surprisingly didn't take him too long to memorize the signature. Shikamaru said that it was probably due to his strong muscle memory. He dropped the pen back and turned towards the room. The other jonin in the room was Kurenai Yuhi, the woman was a new jonin.

He gave the black haired woman a light salute as per Asuma's nature and sidled past her and through the doors. He worried for a moment that she'd catch him. Apparently Kurenai and Asuma were good friends and perhaps a little more. If anyone would be able to catch him it would be her. He paused for a few moments on the other side of the door and was relieved that she didn't come after him. Thankfully Asuma wasn't known for chatting people up.

He looked ahead to the windowed hallway and let himself calm down. This was the easiest part now. Naruto strode boldly down the hallway and parked himself inside of the bathroom. He flicked off the light and kept the door open a crack to keep an eye on the Hokage's office. Time slowly ticked by and he was almost worried that the plan wouldn't work until the door to the office opened. Naruto let out a sigh of relief.

He opened the door to the restroom and closed it behind him in a play act. He turned towards the office and waved at the Hokage. The man's flowing red and white robes instantly made him an intimidating figure. The Third was the one who had funded his academy tuition. The Third was the one who paid for his food and board in the apartment. It felt so wrong to be pretending like this. The only thing that kept him from confessing right there and then was that the Hokage knew that a student would be sneaking in to take the scroll.

The tanned fake jonin walked past the Hokage and the guard surrounding the man took no notice of any strange behavior. A concealed eye watched the Hokage as he entered the restroom and registered that now would be his chance.

_As Shimizu-san said, it's a simple turnkey lock. You should be able to unlock it with a pin, but you have to do it quickly or someone will notice. The Hokage is an old man at the ripe age of 68. He'll be indisposed for awhile, but his ANBU guard will stick around. This means you have to act inconspicuous. _

Naruto folded out the bobby pin from his sleeve and stuck it into the lock of the door. He stood there for a moment and jabbed around in the lock before he heard a satisfying click. He didn't allow himself any relief as he turned the door open and walked through the door. He shut the wooden blockade and turned the lock back shut to cover his tracks. He looked around the Hokage room for a moment before being his made frenzy to look for the scroll.

He started off in the library and pulled nearly three dozen scrolls out from their places before he found the one encircled in kanji. "This has to be it..." He murmured to himself as he slipped the scroll from its spot. He shifted the scroll underneath his shoulder and turned to the window. He hopped onto the windowsill and dropped down onto the clay shingles softly. He carefully slipped down before he made his precarious tumble to the ground.

"Ouch..." Naruto whimpered pathetically as the henge dispelled around him. He snapped back into gear and picked up the scroll again and zipped out of the academy grounds and back towards his apartment. While he ran down the roads he pulled off his wigs and stuffed them into the pockets of his jonin uniform.

Shimizu and Shikamaru were going to be so proud! He hummed happily to himself as he headed down towards the lower district with the scroll in tow. The uniform was really handy. No one stopped him to ask what he was doing because who would stop a jonin while they ran with a scroll? The answer would be no one since they already assumed he was on important business.

He skidded to a stop outside of his apartment complex. The building was falling apart. Dents in the concrete walls of the building only added to the ramshackle appearance. Naruto headed towards the back and turned the door open. He already knew it wouldn't be locked.

"Glad to see you haven't been arrested yet." Naruto grinned at the pineapple haired boy as he stepped into the apartment. He pushed the door close behind him and dropped to the ground. It finally impacted him then. He was safe. He got in and out of the Hokage Tower unscathed. He was going to become a genin!

"Yahoo!" Naruto squealed happily and threw his arms up in the air. "Thank you so much, Shikamaru-san!"

Shikamaru quirked a smile. "Just get out of my father's uniform. He might notice it's missing if I don't get it back by tomorrow."

"Oh yeah! I'll be right back!" Naruto got up from the ground and whizzed off down the hall to change leaving Shikamaru in the dust, literally. Shikamaru laughed softly at the boys antics and turned to look at the scroll. His eyes narrowed slightly as he read the kanji spread across its surface. Why was the scroll labeled as being forbidden?

He got up from the couch and picked up the scroll from the ground. He placed it carefully near the edge of the room and rolled it out. Shikamaru froze as he read the words on the scroll. This was...

His head snapped to the door as a familiar figure joined the two in the apartment. "I can't believe I did that." Shimizu leaned back against the door and hung her head low. Two straight hours of being pummeled in shogi was not something she ever wanted to revisit. Her golden eyes flickered up towards the boy kneeled over on the ground. She sensed his worry and walked over towards him. She peered over his shoulder at the scroll and stalled. "That's..."

"The Forbidden Scroll. It only contains sealed S Class jutsu." Shikamaru rubbed his forehead. How had this happened? Had Naruto grabbed the wrong scroll or had Mizuki sent him purposefully to steal a forbidden object?

"What cha looking at?" Naruto walked back into the room with a smug look on his face. "I did a good job didn't I?" He was jolted out of his delusions of grandeur by the chilling look sent to him by his companions. "Eh? What's wrong? I got the scroll and everything. I even checked to make sure it was the right one!"

"Naruto, this scroll is the forbidden scroll. It only contains S Class jutsus that have been deemed too dangerous for normal use." Shimizu looked away from the rapidly paling blonde. Out of all the possible outcomes she had thought of, this was certainly not one of them. However, there was that part of her that was just itching for information so... "If we're going to die for looking at this anyways we might as well read it, hm? What time did Mizuki-sense, Mizuki-san tell you to bring him the scroll?"

"Eh? Er... 6pm so in an hour. But are you sure this is a good idea?"

"If I'm going to die I'm at least going to make it worth it. There's nothing more pathetic than just dying for no good reason. If I know things that I shouldn't then at least my death would have some sort of value." The girl mumbled incoherently as she began reading over the scroll.

Shikamaru held back the nearly uncontrollable desire to crash his head into the wall. Here he was with two deluded people reading over forbidden jutsu. He got up from the ground and walked over to the other end of the scroll and sat down to read as well. If he couldn't beat them he might as well join them. They had forty five minutes to read the scroll that would mean their heads.

Naruto hung his head gloomily and sat over on his bed. He just couldn't get over the fact that Mizuki was trying to steal a forbidden jutsu. Wait, did that mean? "Mizuki-sensei is betraying the village?" Naruto's head shot up like a rocket. The idea had just struck him now and it scared him.

"Yes, yes. He's going to betray the village and try and kill us all. Now be quiet, we're reading." Shikamaru's flippant reply slapped him silly. Mizuki was a traitor? So by extension was he being a traitor by handing the scroll over to Mizuki?

"So why are we going to give him the scroll?" It was a just question. Not every loyal shinobi would hand dangerous materials to a known enemy for no sane reason. "Don't we still have time to return the scroll to the Hokage and say that Mizuki-sensei told us to steal it?"

"And get ourselves stabbed for breaking into the Tower in the first place? No, we'll manage this on our own. We just need to give Mizuki-san the scroll and bring every jonin and ANBU from Konoha onto the scene. Being caught red-handed will be enough to lock him up." Shimizu replied without turning away from the page. "Nara-san already has a plan for that."

-TSUME-

"Mizuki-sensei! I got it!" The tall man turned around sharply to see the young boy emerging haphazardly through the trees. The jumpsuit stood out like a sore thumb in this environment and Mizuki knew he'd have to make this quick. He slipped one of the new headbands out from behind him and smile, "Good job, Naruto-kun! You deserve this. Give me the scroll and I'll go drop it off back at the office. You can tell me how you broke in later."

Naruto grinned and swiped the shiny metal from his former sensei's hand. "Thank you, Mizuki-sensei! But unfortunately it won't work quite like that." The smile fell off Naruto's face only to be replaced by a frown. Mizuki narrowed his eyes at the boy and moved to take a step forward only to be halted.

He tugged at his arm, but it did not move. He frantically began trying to squirm out of the jutsu. "What devilry is this?" He hissed as he struggled.

"I dunno. It's strange how things just happen like this, right?" Naruto shrugged innocently and stuffed his hand into his pocket. He drew out a small red stick and stuck it carefully into the ground. "You know what this is, right?" Naruto pulled out a match from his pocket and struck it off the ground. He held the flame before his face for a moment with a cruel grin. "It's a flare." He stuck the lit end by the fuse and turned away.

The red rocket went spiraling up into the sky before exploding in a flash of colors. "In ANBU signals the red flare means an emergency. Seeing you with that scroll will work well enough, Mizuki-**sensei**." Naruto couldn't help but jab at the poor man in front of him. Mizuki was sweating bullets as he realized he couldn't escape this one.

"Curse you, demon brat." He spat out.

Naruto shrugged before running away through the trees. He passed by Shikamaru and gave the boy a curt wave. Shikamaru signaled his response and dispelled his **Kagemane no Jutsu** just before the jonin arrived on the scene. It was time to split.

OMAKE: How to Interrogate a Child

Sasuke was not amused. His eye twitched uncontrollably as the girl beside him continuously prodded him to speak. "Sasuke-kun! Hey, are you listening to me?" He sent the infamous Uchiha glare back at the pinkette. He didn't see the point in this moronic exercise. If he didn't talk then no one would obtain information. It was as simple as that so why even bother? If everyone decided to shut up for once it would make the world a pleasanter place.

"Ah, I'm glad! So I guess we can begin then, right? Um... What's a synonym of stream?"

"A brook." He drawled in response. She didn't really think that would fool him did he? That was an insult to his intelligence.

"Another synonym?"

"Rivulet."

"Another?"

"Creek."

The boy that got paired with them was barely holding back a laugh. "Sakura-chan, while this is a good idea perhaps we had better try another approach." He cringed as the rosette turned to him with a venomous glare. The unspoken words of, 'do not make me look foolish in front of MY Sasuke-kun' hung in the air.

"Have you ever seen the outlands near Konoha, Sasuke-kun?" She chirped. The black haired boy made a face. How did fangirls believe that he would find their two faced behavior attractive?

"Yes, I have." He spoke slowly as he looked her over. What was she planning now?

"Have you ever seen one of the volcanos explode? It sounds so scary!" She squealed in fear. He thought it was rather pathetic since shinobi died practically every day. But she was a lower life form so she deserved some leniency on the matter.

"Yes."

"Can you describe what hit looked like? I've never heard much except that there's a bunch of lava and it can kill people!"

"It can, but it normally doesn't go far enough down the mountain to hurt people. It escapes from the mountain in **rivers** and there are channels made to help redirect the flow."

The boy next to them had a cheesy grin on his face. "Score~"

Needless to say he received a glare.

-TSUME-

Hinata twitched. She had never liked being the center of attention and she doubted that she'd enjoy it any time soon. It was ten minutes into the hour neither of her partners had said a word yet. Were they analyzing her? Did she have something on her face? She blushed at the thought and buried her face into her palms. She just wanted to say the word and get out of this awful situation!

"Hyuuga-san, are you alright?" Shino looked briefly over at his female companion. He didn't quite understand her. Hyuugas were famed for being stoic and geniuses. Hinata was neither of these things. The girl was subpar in all academic and physical classes and she was skittish. The purplette squirmed under his eyes, but nodded.

"Hm. We might as well get talking though, right? At least smile you two ice cubes!" Okada whacked the two soundly on the back forcing them to double over. The brunette girl sighed in exasperation. "Don't either of you have any personality to ya? I have faith in your ability to talk in more than a monotone." The serious tone in her voice only added to the amusement Shino felt. He had very possibly gotten stuck with two dysfunctional people.

"Since this isn't going anywhere, Hyuuga-san can you help me with my homework?" Okada scrambled for her bag and pulled out a few notes. She scribbled a few words onto the paper and handed it to the bemused girl.

The short girl looked over the papers and read aloud, "Th-the lion c-crossed o-over t-the... Umm..." Hinata paused as she stared at the word. What on earth was revir? She blinked slowly as she stared at it then exclaimed, "**river**! Ah..."

Shino raised a brow. Maybe there was only one dysfunctional one.

-TSUME-

Ino was sharper than most of her classmates made her out to be. She hadn't spent the first six years of her life stalki-following her father around for nothing. She'd grown adept at lying to get around annoying individuals that asked why she was waddling about Torture and Interrogation at the age of 5. "So, you going to get started?"

Ryuu and Rima exchanged glances. The two friends hardly even knew where to start. River wasn't a word used in every day conversations and Ino knew what she was doing. They had no doubt that the blonde would simply evade the question when they got near. This would take some work.

The brown haired boy leaned over to the red head beside him and whispered a few words into her ear. The girl's eyes lit up and she nodded eagerly. Considering this was Ino, the plan would not fail.

"Ino-chan! Do you remember Winnie the Pooh?"

Ino raised a brow. Of course she remembered Winnie the Pooh, but what on earth was Rima talking about? She nodded cautiously and paused for a moment.

"I just remembered that song about the rain. Do you remember it too, Ino-chan? It was something like, 'the rain rain rain came down down down in rushing rising rivlets and climbed into Piglets'." Ino was horrified.

"NO! That isn't right! It's 'the rain rain rain came down down down in rushing sising rivlets till the **river** crept out of its bed and climbed into Piglet's'." Ino froze and then smacked herself. Of all the stupid ways to get caught...

**Ok, so the last Omake was a bit random. xD I did the Omakes since someone said they would have liked to see the other interrogations.  
I'm so happy! I never thought I'd get this nice of a response~ /happyland  
Thanks for reviewing and adding this story onto alerts and favorites!  
I'm not sure whether I'll be doing a pairing yet though I do have one in mind. Romance is not my strong suite so I'll see how the story turns out. I don't want to promise something and then have it epically fail. Thanks much!**


	3. Analysis

Subtle and insubstantial, the expert leaves no trace; divinely mysterious, he is inaudible. Thus he is master of his enemy's fate.  
**-Sun Tzu**

Chapter Two: Analysis

"Shikamaru! Get out of bed right this instant! You're getting your team assignment today and you have to leave a good impression on your jonin sensei!" Shikamaru gave a muffled groan from his pillow. If only his parents could have been satisfied that he at least graduated the academy, but no they couldn't. He had to go all the way and have a genin team. The boy woefully dragged himself out of the warm sheets and towards the closet.

He slipped on his dull gray clothes before slopping himself down the stairs. He twiddled a rubber band between his middle and pointer fingers. The stretch of the material stung the sides of his fingers, but it helped him focus. His spiky black hair hung down limply. It irritated him, but he didn't quite have the energy to do anything about it now. The clink of glass met his ears as a bowl was set down before him. Shikamaru opened his eyes and stared at the miso soup for a moment before downing the liquid.

He set down the bowl lightly before looked back up at his mother. The forceful woman was heckling his poor father. Shikamaru wondered how they ever got married since they seemed to argue so much. He sighed softly. He stretched the rubber band between his fingers one more time before pulling his hair back and letting the string snap around his hair.

Hopefully he wouldn't be stuck with an intolerable group of genin. A part of him was despairing. The Ino-Shika-Cho group would probably be brought together again. Shikamaru loathed the thought. Choji wasn't too bad to sit with as long as he didn't babble incessantly, but Ino was a nightmare. Where Choji could show restraint, Ino didn't even prove she had the word in her dictionary. A bit of conversation he could understand, but to talk for hours about absolutely nothing was another matter. It was a skill he didn't want to learn.

"I'm leaving now." Shikamaru stood up from the table and exited the room. He padded softly down the hall and slipped on his shoes. The door opened and Shikmaru headed out of the house. He looked sidelong at the deer grazing peacefully along the path. A young buck looked up at the passing boy for a moment before lowering his head once more to graze in the grass. The black haired boy was rather jealous of the deer. It would be nice to rest all day with the only thing to bother you would be whether or not you needed more food.

He huffed gloomily and made his way out of the compound. The gravel crunched beneath his feet as he padded through the dirt roads. The Nara compound was near the edges of Konoha for simplicities sake, but it made commuting a pain when necessary. Flowers sprung up along the roadside giving life to the dull road. Few houses lined the roads this far away from the center. Minutes passed and slowly more houses appeared until the shadows spread their wings over him.

Shikamaru looked up into the blue sky with the slightest of smiles on his face. The sky was so beautiful and so free. No one expected anything of it and it moved around with ease. He turned his face away and back towards the busy streets. He dipped in and out of the crowd as he made his way down to the academy. He stopped short outside the gates to take a good look.

It would be his last real class inside of the academy. He felt the gravity of the day weigh upon him. It would be his last official day of childhood. After this he would be considered a man. To be perfectly honest, Shikamaru didn't want to grow up. Being a shinobi meant that you had to learn how to kill. You had to lose that part of humanity within you that wept for children that had their families slain.

There were no casualties in battle that did not have a backstory. There was not one person that didn't have another that would miss them when they were gone. It could be a storekeeper that noticed a regular disappeared or it could be a loved one. Shikamaru didn't want to cause that feeling of sadness. He scoffed at himself. Here he was, the son of a shinobi family and he couldn't even stand the thought of death. It was pathetic.

Strands of hair fell in front of his face as he stared coldly at the ground, his eyes unusually sharp. It would have to be done anyways. He shut his eyes and silently let a tear fall from his eye. He flung the tear away with a flick of his hand and was done with it. One tear could be allowed, but no more. He looked back up at the red and white building before stepping into the courtyard.

He shoved the wooden doors open roughly before storming into the classroom. He felt a few sets of eyes upon him. They wondered what put him in such an awful mood, and rightfully so. Shikamaru rarely ever showed such reckless behavior and he silently noted to make this one of the last times. He was a 'man' now. He couldn't act careless or it would cost him his life.

The other students slowly trickled into the room until the click tolled 9 am. Iruka stood at the forefront of the class with stress lines creasing his face. The betrayal of Mizuki had hit the man hard. He had never expected the man to be a traitor. The thought of being played for nearly two years was frightening to the chuunin. Iruka had spent the night conflicted. Before his capture, Mizuki had apparently decided to give Naruto a headband.

The whole thing made Iruka suspicious. He knew there had to be more to the headband than what he was told, but neither Naruto nor Mizuki had admitted anything. He toyed with the idea of taking back the headband, but in the end decided against it. Naruto had already gone through so much that he deserved to become a ninja for all of his hard work. The admission did little to lift the guilt though.

"Today is a big day for all of you. Today you are no longer children or students, you are shinobi. You are the shield of the village. Without shinobi, Konohagakure would crumble under the forces of enemy nations. You are a generation of protectors. We fight to protect our friends, our family, our village. After today you will all embark on the life of a shinobi. I know you all can accomplish great things, but remember that being a shinobi isn't about your own pride. It is about a pride for your village." The prewritten speech sounded droll in his ears, but it was satisfying seeing dozens of eyes light up in excitement.

"I will now announce the teams and their jonin senseis." Iruka reached down to his table and picked up the sheet of teams. He coughed for emphasis and then began, "Team Four: Yamasaki Mai, Hitarou Kenta, Ashizu Ren." He continued listing the teams for awhile before finally reaching team 7. "Team Seven: Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, Inuzuka Kiba. Your jonin sensei is Hataka Kakashi." The announcement of their jonin sensei was muffled by the squeal of happiness that escaped from Sakura.

The pinkette jumped up in the air and did a fist pump before sitting back down. Even then the girl was gushing in her chair and sending obvious glances towards her crush. Iruka sighed at the gestures but continued, "Team Eight: Hyuuga Hinata, Aburame Shino, and Kimura Teru. Your jonin sensei will be Kurenai Yuhi." Hinata blushed slightly at the mere mention of her name and looked anxiously over at her new teammates. Shino didn't seem so bad and neither did that Teru boy, albeit she didn't know the blonde boy too well.

"Team Ten: Yamanaka Ino, Akimichi Choji, and Hanagaki Ryuu. Your jonin sensei will be Sarutobi Asuma." Ino moaned gloomily. She had gotten stuck with the fat boy and the pessimist! The only thing Choji could be useful for was eating a way out of a cave if they ever got stuck. Ryuu could have potential as a warrior because he could easily talk a person into suicide just by standing near him! Ino slammed her head down into her desk and covered her head with her hands. This was just not her day!

"Team Tsume: Uzumaki Naruto, Nara Shikamaru, and Shimizu Kei. Your jonin sensei will be Yamanaka Inoichi." Shikamaru quirked a brow. Why was it that they had been assigned a titled team and not a numbered one? He was pleasantly surprised with his future teammates though. There were definitely worse fates than this. He shared a glance with Kei who gave him a nod in return. Perhaps this could be tolerable.

"Your jonin senseis will come in individually to collect you all. Once again, congratulations on graduating and I hope to see you around the village sometime!" Iruka gave one last wave before leaving the room. The students all turned to chatter with one another, but before they had the chance a woman slammed open the door. "Am I late?" The black haired woman was wheezing in the doorway with a fist clenched upon the wall. She belatedly noticed how full the room was and straightened herself out.

"I'm Kurenai Yuhi. Team Eight comes with me! Be at Training Ground Eight in fifteen minutes for our first session." The shaggy haired woman smiled warmly at the children before dissolving into a cloud of butterflies. Hinata and Teru shared a glance for a moment before getting up. They stepped down into the front of the hall before rushing out the door with Shino in slow pursuit. That meaning the boy was walking and was showing very little excitement at all.

Some of the students were gaping at the spot where Kurenai had once stood. "Did you see that? She just disappeared! That's so cool! I hope my sensei teaches me that!" Ashizu chattered loudly to his squadmates. The novelty of the whole thing began to slowly die down as various teachers called their students out to their various training grounds. Soon only Team Seven and Team Tsume were left in the room and they were all getting impatient.

Naruto rolled his pencil from side to side on his desk impatiently. Where was he anyways? The sound of the sliding door brought him to attention as the blonde man stepped into the room. "Sorry about that. Team Tsume, come with me to Training Ground Fifteen." Naruto bounced up from his chair eagerly and skidded down the stairs to his sensei. He gave a slight bow to the man before smiling up happily.

"Took ya long enough, Yamanaka-sensei! Whoa! I guess you really are my sensei now... That's so cool!" Naruto bounced up and down. He turned to Shikamaru and Kei who had finally made their way down the stairs. He reached out to them, grabbed their hands, and bolted out the door. The faster they got to that training ground, the better. He just couldn't wait to get the lesson started!

He had spent most of his life wishing that he could learn how to fight. The villagers had never liked him too much and he didn't really like them back, but he didn't hate them either. What he did want was to help the other kids that were like him. Being an orphan wasn't an easy life even if the villagers didn't loathe you.

Your best friend could become your enemy faster than the blink of an eye. There was no such thing as trust on the streets. They might pretend to save your life, but it was all a stage to get your trust. Those that believed in the good nature of others had a tendency to die off mysteriously unless they were strong. Naruto wanted to change that. He'd protect his friends, always.

He looked back at the two he was dragging along behind him. The girl had a distinct scowl on her face as she clung tightly onto her notebook. The boy was rolling his eyes and flopping limply as he was hauled down the streets. These people, no matter how strange, were his friends. Iruka said that ninja fought to protect their friends so that was what he'd do. He'd protect them with his life.

He smiled again and turned back to running along the streets. He dived in and out of the pockets of space left open by the milling people. Excitement coursed in his veins as he slipped in and out of the moving crowd. It was an obstacle course of sorts, like the secretary hall they had visited only a day ago. Naruto loved it.

In a few minutes the trio finally collapsed onto Training Ground Fifteen. Kei stumbled over to a tree and promptly drooped down to the ground. She wheezed weakly as she laid back onto the trunk. Stamina was not her strong suite. That was putting it lightly. Running up the stairs was enough to tucker her out on most days. Physical examination was the only class that she was borderline flunking at the academy and it showed.

A thump was heard as Shikamaru took the other side of the tree and leaned back against it. The boy wasn't nearly as tired, but he figured it would be prudent to relax as much as possible before Inoichi arrived. "Eh? Why are you guys so tired?" Naruto tilted his head to the side in confusion. The jinchuriki hadn't even broken a sweat from their escapade. In fact the boy was practically glowing with energy. It almost hurt to look at him.

"Not all of us are conditioned." Kei snapped at Naruto. It was at times like this where she envied the boy.

"Ah! We gotta get you fit then, Kei-chan!" Naruto chirped back innocently. Well, he did notice that Kei was mad, but he just chose not to acknowledge it.

"You three got here rather fast." Naruto whirled around sharply to stare at the voice. Inoichi stood there calmly standing with his arms crossed. The man smiled at the younger boys antics and headed over for the sake of his trainees. "I suppose we should all introduce ourselves to one another. I'm Yamanaka Inoichi. You already know I'm a jonin of Konoha and Ino's father. I am also the former head of the Torture and Interrogation department."

Three sets of eyes locked onto him with unadulterated shock. The genin could hardly believe what they were hearing. Yamanaka Inoichi, the man who apologized for accidentally bruising someone during taijutsu training, was the head of Torture and Interrogation? That could not be right. After a few moments passed they realized that it wasn't a joke.

"Your turn, Kei-chan. If I may call you that now. It would be nice if we could all get on a first name basis. You can all call me Inoichi-sensei by the way." The man smiled pleasantly as if he hadn't just told them shocking news.

Kei coughed for a moment before murmuring, "Shimizu Kei. I'm from a civilian family that is in the merchant business. I spend my spare time mingling among crowds to try and hear anything interesting." It came out clipped and short. She didn't really know what to say after all and she was most certainly not going to relate her life story to people she hardly knew.

"Nara Shikamaru. I enjoy cloud watching and playing shogi with my father." Shikamaru nodded sagely before turning to Naruto who was practically beaming.

"Uzumaki Naruto! I plan on becoming the strongest shinobi in all of Konoha so I can protect my friends! All of you guys included in that one by the way. I love all the different types of ramen! Ramen is the absolute best you know." His head bobbed up and down in confirmation. Ramen was awesome.

"So I assume there's a purpose for the T&I head to be teaching a genin team instead of working in his department?" Shikamaru coughed out. He rubbed his forehead once before looking at the jonin.

"Correct, Shikamaru-kun. But back to business, I assume you wish to know the purpose of leading your team?" The genin nodded in response, "Well I'm not going to tell you." The jaws dropped. He wasn't going to tell them?

"To put it differently, I'm not going to flat out tell you. Try and see if you can figure out why I'm leading your team." Inoichi smirked at the dumbstruck faces on his students. "But onto business. You all actually are not genin quite yet." He held up a hand to silence the rambunctious blonde and continued, "You all have to participate in an examination to see if you qualify to become a genin team. Two thirds of your academy classmates will fail this exam and will be sent back for remedials. Let's see if you'll join them."

"By the end of this session you should know if you're passing or not. In my little speech there I had a logical flaw. To pass this test, you have to find it. There's no way to bluff your way through so hop to it. If you can tell me why I'm teaching you all, it'll be an added bonus." Inoichi turned towards a nearby tree and laid back against it and closed his eyes. It wouldn't hurt to get a bit of shut eye while his genin were puzzling it out, now would it?

Naruto sat in a daze. "Er... What are we supposed to do now?" He turned to look at his companions. Kei was frantically scribbling down everything Inoichi had said. She looked down at her cyphered text with a sigh. There was a logical flaw somewhere in this?

"To begin we aren't sure when he dropped the hint." Shikamaru mumbled from the other side of the tree. "He could have said it during his introductory or within the past three minutes. In a summary of what he said: he's a jonin, Ino's father, former head of T&I, we're not genin, two thirds fail, remedial examinations, and there's a logical flaw."

"There can't possibly be anything messed up with him being a jonin and Ino's father so those two possibilities can be crossed out. So we know it has to relate to his former position or the fact we could fail. Within the words that he said there has to be a contradiction of some sorts." Shikamaru rubbed his palm against the dirt and gave a satisfied nod. He grabbed a stick beside him and scribbled out: T&I, not genin, two thirds, and remedials.

Somewhere at least two of these points had to contradict. What if the contradiction was a combination of two items against a third? Shikamaru's mind was whirring around while staring at his diagram. He mumbled incoherently as he drew various lines into the dirt. Naruto and Kei went around to look over his shoulder curiously. They shared glances and Naruto gave a shrug.

The trio knew each other well enough to know that logic was Shikamaru's strong suite and not theirs. Naruto was the one who actually went out into the field and did things. Kei normally lurked about and gathered the relevant information. It was just how they rolled. However, this was an examination for all of them. If one person failed the other people would take up the gauntlet and help the person.

"Eh, Shikamaru-san. Didn't you forget that we should know if we pass by the end of the session?" Naruto asked curiously. Shikamaru's head shot around and stared blankly at Naruto.

"Did he really say that?"

"Huh? Yeah, he did." Naruto replied blankly. What was the big fuss about knowing if they would pass?

"That's our flaw." Shikamaru sighed at the empty looks his companions gave him. He rubbed away the notes he had scratched onto the dirt and began a new diagram. "From our graduating class only 2/3 can make it to genin teams, correct? However, if we know if we graduate or not by the end of this session then our sensei will not have had time to communicate with the other jonin. The average graduation rate can be 66%, but he spoke in absolutes. It just can't work like that."

He pointed down at the words with his stick. "So the graduating rate can actually be higher or lower than 66% depending on how many jonin accept their students. Otherwise they'd have to reject some students that had potential just to keep the numbers straight or accept some that aren't as good. If there was a dry year in the academy they would also struggle because they wouldn't have enough students to obtain the correct percentage."

Shikamaru nodded in satisfaction as his explanation. "You two can tell him. It's too troublesome." He slumped back against the tree and closed his eyes. He had done enough work for the day.

Kei smirked a bit at the pony tailed boy. She got up from the ground and stretched out her sore limbs before motioning at Naruto to follow her. She strode calmly over to Inoichi. Inoichi cracked open an eye at the sound of her arrival. He looked up at the sky for a moment then back at the girl. "Ah, that was quick. It couldn't have been longer than an hour could it?"

He listened to their explanation and let a smile creep onto his face. "Good job." He ruffled the duo's hair messily and got up from the ground. "I suppose that concludes your induction, hm?"

"Not quite." Inoichi looked over Naruto's shoulder at the black haired boy. Shikamaru had his hands tucked into his pants and had a distinct scowl on his face. "The reason why you were assigned as our jonin sensei, was it to create a younger generation of reconnaissance spies?"

Inoichi tilted his head to the side innocently and gave a look that asked for the genius to explain. Shikamaru grumbled out how troublesome it was before elaborating. "I can't imagine the Hokage assigning you a genin team so you could tutor them in torture techniques. However, the Hokage is also smart enough to play to the strengths of all of his jonin. As department head I assume he knows you well enough to know your skills."

"Interrogation is the only other possibility, but I also doubt that you'd immediately delve into that art. Some elements of the tactic can be less than pleasant for children of our age. Therefore I can only believe that you are here to teach us stealth. Ino-san has complained often of your absence on long distance missions." A glimmer of amusement flickered in Shikamaru's eye. The hyperactive girl was useful for something after all.

"Because of our drastically different purpose I assume that is why we were assigned the name Team Tsume? After all, Tsume is the move in shogi where you checkmate the opponent's king. On that day when you visited the academy you told us about the importance of reconnaissance. Knowledge is power and power is what you need to defeat the king."

Inoichi was silent for a moment. He broke the silence with a loud laugh. "You have me there, Shikamaru-kun. Though I admit I wasn't expecting you to read so far into it. All of you have passed."

Naruto whooped for joy as he danced around in the air. He was officially a genin! This would be his first step to becoming a ninja that could protect everyone he held dear. It was a momentous occasion and all momentous occasions deserved celebrations, right? "Hey, hey! We should all go to Ichiraku's to celebrate! I'll book the table ok! Sensei pays!"

Without waiting for their replies, Naruto took off like a shot to his second home. The three left behind all shared looks. "Do we really have to go?" Kei mumbled quietly. She ran a hand through her hair before drudgingly following the dust trail left by her teammate. Shikamaru shrugged before trailing after his friend with Inoichi in slow pursuit.

-TSUME-

A girl huddled by the candle light. She held up a small tattered notebook and read by the flickering light. "Kinjutsu..." What was she supposed to do with this knowledge? She could endeavor to learn some of the techniques she copied down, but they were forbidden for a reason. It could become painfully obvious in battle that she had learned the jutsu somewhere and it would a nuisance explaining how. She didn't even want to think about what would happen after they found out.

However, it would be a waste to not do anything with the jutsu. She frowned slightly as she read through the lists of jutsu instructions. They were all forbidden for various reasons: it could cause self-harm, overuse of chakra, and brain overstimulation. Her finger traced down the page until she stopped on a title, **Jikan no Kaze**. She hummed in thought before putting a small squiggle beside the title.

She looked through the pages at the other various tic marks she had left beside the other kinjutsu. Some were slightly varied to represent her teammates though only the trained eye could tell that. One stood for Shikamaru and the other for Naruto. As new people entered her life she found that some were prominent enough to have their own symbols instead of being spelled out. Kei smiled slightly at the page.

She closed the book and tossed it onto the side of her bedding. She doused the flame with a short puff and crawled under her sheets. When the night was silent like this, she couldn't help but think. Thinking wasn't always pleasant for an information gatherer. Her mind trailed off to what she had heard earlier in the day. A jonin squad had come back with critical injuries with two out of the four already dead. One of the dead was the person who swapped shifts with his daughter to tend to the armory.

A mother had died in childbirth and the baby was hence put up for adoption. The council had voted upon a new budget for the next fiscal year. Mizuki would be executed within the next week after being interrogated. Various couples had come together and broken up. All of these thoughts crowded her mind in a rush as she sorted through her thoughts.

As the daughter of a merchant, she knew everything had a set value. Pottery was only worth as much as its quality allowed it to be. There was no variation in prices and certainly no fluctuation. Information had a set value as well, the value to which the person is willing to pay for it. Travelling merchants heard things from around the countries. The information was valuable and her family knew it. They were intel launderers.

You never knew when a certain scrap of information could come in handy so you had to collect everything. The more you know about someone, the more they fear you. It was just how it worked. Kei knew her value in comparison to her teammates. Her only worth was based off of her knowledge. She closed her eyes. Such a pathetic thing, but it was the only thing that gave her purpose. Knowledge. She hated it.

OMAKE: The Notebook from Wence it Came

Naruto clung to the side of the tree and peered around the corner. There was his target! He ducked behind the bush beside him and began jumping from tree to tree. He'd finally get to see what she was really writing now! The scratch of the pen alerted his ears as he poked his head out from above her. He stuck out like a sore thumb against the branches though he didn't realize it. This was the moment he had been waiting for the past two years!

Whenever he had gotten too close, she'd always slam the notebook in his face and walk away. But now he had finally gotten the drop on her! He looked over the edge of the tree and down at the paper and let his jaw drop. Crude pictures of ponies and rainbows stared up at him with little dashes of sparkles every few centimeters.

He nearly fell out of his tree. All the times he had thought she was doing something like planning world domination she was really just drawing ponies? This couldn't be right! Unless... A horrible thought struck Naruto. "KEI! You're a closet pony fanatic!"

**/hugs readers  
R-Rated, Mzr90, gimangel163, RamenKnight, Jess, alchemists19, tekelili, briansangelthing, and Raku thank you all so much for reviewing. /happy tears  
RamenKnight, sorry I had a wee bit more of the moral thing in this chapter. Hope you liked it though. :)**

**Also thank you to all of the people who put this story on alerts and favorited it!  
Question: What is a C2? Apparently I have 3 of those? /confused**

**This chapter was a bit shorter, but I didn't quite know how to extend it. I'll make the next one longer. :) Also before I uploaded this chapter the story had 12121 words! Cool...  
Ja ne~**

**Disclaimer: Xana does not own Naruto or any of its characters. **


	4. The Demon

To fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.  
**-Sun Tzu**

Chapter Three: The Demon

"**It** is going to be within a two mile radius. Spread out and cover as much ground as possible. Send out a signal flare when you sight it." Shikamaru murmured through the brush. "Shimizu-san, take left. Naruto, take right. I'll go straight." His companions nodded solemnly before dispersing to the sides.

Shikamaru ran through the trees before the familiar sound of an explosion came. His eyes shot to the sky to see the dying red flame of Naruto's flare. "Shimizu-san! We have to go provide backup! Quickly!" Shikamaru swerved towards the flare and made a panicked dash along through the trees. He knew his teammate wouldn't be able to defeat **it**. **It** was just too powerful for any one of them to handle alone. The dastardly thing always managed to evade his **Kagemane no Jutsu** no matter how many traps they set.

It was five in the afternoon now and they had been following **that thing's** trail for the past two hours. A piercing scream only aided his fear as he ran. He let out subtle pulses of chakra to hurry himself into the clearing. He landed inside the small opening and stopped. Kei landed behind him and gasped softly. "How awful."

Naruto was curled up weakly on the ground with dozens of marks layered upon his body. He quivered weakly in fear and flinched away from Kei's hand. "**It's** too powerful... I'm not sure how much longer I can take this.."

"We'll take out **the demon**, Uzumaki-san. But we need your help. We'll stick together for now since we obviously can't take it out alone. Which way did the escapee go?" Naruto forced himself up from the ground and swayed to and fro for a moment. He shook himself clear and placed a determined look on his face. He pointed westward and began running in said direction.

Kei groaned before taking off behind him, albeit at a much slower pace. "Uzumaki-san!" Naruto skidded to a stop and looked inquisitively at Shikamaru. "We travel together. Don't run off ahead." Shikamaru was rather glad Kei was in the group. This way he didn't have to run like a madman.

"Ehh? But we'll lose the trail! You know how hard it is to find **it**!"

"Is that?" Kei pointed off towards the trees. The grass swayed, but with no breeze to guide it. The trio quieted before getting down into battle stances.

"Shimizu-san, try and guide it in our direction. Uzumaki-san and I will attempt the capture." Kei nodded. Shikamaru had become the trio's makeshift leader over the past few days. Both Kei and Naruto were quite content with being the tools for the plans he set up. They respected each other's skills and knew they could never fill the leading role as well as Shikamaru could.

Kei clung to the side of the trees as she quietly crept towards the clump of grass. Stealth had come to her easily over the past few days. It was something she was glad to attribute to herself. She was never one to barge out and wildly swing kunai at people. Hiding in the corner was ever so much simpler.

She saw a flicker of brown before she sprung onto the brush. The target squealed as it flew away from her and towards her waiting companions. Naruto flicked a kunai towards the creature and grunted as the monster dodged. The demon gave a satisfied sniff as it continued to dodge the oncoming projectiles. Little did it know that it was being herded into a trap. "Now, Shikamaru!"

"**Kagemane no Jutsu**." The black mass flew across the ground and linked to the target's shadow. "Completed." A cruel smirk lit Shikamaru's face. "We have you now, **Tora**."

-TSUME-

There was absolutely no purpose for them in D rank missions. Unless they were training pain tolerance, that would make sense. Naruto had the cat in a choke hold. The trio stood in the Hokage office with little more than dull scowls plastered across their faces. This was not the first, but the fifth time they had been sent out to retrieve Tora in the past week. They were not amused.

The Third chuckled uneasily at his desk as he felt the killer intent being sent at him. "Madame is in the library waiting for the return of Tora. She really appreciates your consistent and prompt response. You are much faster than most of the other genin teams we send out." He leaned closer towards the genin with a guilty look on his face. "I'm sorry, but she asks for you all each time Tora goes missing. You do retrieve the cat twice as fast as the other teams."

Naruto twitched slightly at the Hokage's words. No one wanted to be asked for when it came to Tora. The cat was a demon incarnate. Not only would Tora aim for the eyes of its assailants, but it had an uncanny sense of where the pressure points were. On first instinct one would think a cat would just wildly swipe its claws at you. However, Tora was a domesticated cat with clipped claws. The beast was smart enough to know it had a disability when it came to the sharpness section. So it aimed for the sensitive spots.

Naruto knew firsthand the awful feeling of being knocked unconscious by a cat no taller than his knee. It wasn't even a nincat! His arm closed in tighter on the monster as he turned jerkily towards the library. It was strange to think about heading into the library. He still felt the guilt weigh in his heart when it came to stealing the forbidden scroll.

The scroll had been recovered and all, but he had still **stolen** it. Winning his headband off criminal activities made him feel worthless at times. That he didn't really deserve the headband since he had metso-stole it from Mizuki. Though he did admit that Mizuki wasn't worthy of holding the headband anyways and the headband was looking for an owner.

They hadn't done much with the information they had gleaned from the scroll over the past two weeks. The trio had congregated with each other a few times in Naruto's apartment to discuss the information, but they hadn't taken any action yet. Kei worried that their chakra stores wouldn't be large enough to take the burden of a majority of the jutsu within the scroll. She had been diving into medical ninjutsu to find a way of measuring chakra stores, but she hadn't perfected the jutsu yet.

Papers had been passed out to all of them containing the information about the jutsu she had thought would be good for them. Of course she handily left out the hand sign instructions in case they had any wild ideas about practicing. She didn't worry as much about Shikamaru as she did about Naruto. The boy had proclaimed that he had gigantic chakra stores and that she didn't have to worry, but Kei had her doubts. No genin should have chakra stores large enough for a forbidden jutsu, much less four of them.

Naruto stepped into the library to see the bulky form of the daimyo's wife. The corpulent woman squealed with happiness as she saw the brown cat come into view. With faster speed than Naruto thought was possible for such a round lady, the woman grabbed Tora into her arms and squeezed the poor cat tight. Naruto watched with grim satisfaction as the beast slashed at the lady helplessly. The fur coat the woman wore only added to the irony as no one could tell any longer what was the coat and what was Tora.

"Thank you, children! You dears are always so quick! I knew I was right with entrusting you with my dear little Tora. Tora says thank you for finding him! He has always had such an awful sense of direction. Mummy missed you too, precious." She laughed merrily as she rocked the poor creature back and forth in her arms. "I do hope Tora precious didn't give you any trouble. Did he?"

Shikamaru gritted his teeth and forced out, "No Madame, he didn't. He was a very good cat, but directionally challenged." He was lying between his teeth and he knew it. However, it would be a good idea not to anger the daimyo's wife no matter how much he hated that blasted creature. Perhaps the next strategy would be to wait for six or so hours before chasing the cat so they could be late. The woman wouldn't ask for them if they turned out late, right?

"Oh, good. You're such delightful children. Most of the other children that I've seen over the years have been rather persnickety with my poor Tora. Can you imagine my little baby every deserving such cruel treatment?" She tightened her hold on the cat for emphasis. If Tora was able to turn blue, Naruto was sure he would have.

"Hopefully I won't have to see you all again, but dearest does get lost an awful lot. I'll be sure to ask for you three! Tata~" Madame waved merrily before waddling out the door.

"I'm not sure how much more of this I can take." Kei rubbed her forehead wearily. The thought of waking up every day only to be assigned weed whacking and dog walking made everything seem gloomy. The pay was dismal as well. Thankfully, Tora's capture was worth twice as much as the other D ranks, but it didn't mean they got much in the way of money. Allowances had been cut when they became ninja since they were technically earning their own money.

However, the money they were earning now couldn't even buy a set of proper kunai much less defensive gear. Inoichi had cut them loose for the past few days to take on D ranks while he caught up with some of the T&I department. The man had promised that he'd make it up to them when he returned, but nothing would be worth five Tora missions.

She eyed the wall covered in scrolls with a calculating glance, but turned away sharply towards her companions. "We should go." It would be best to stay out of this room as much as they possibly could. Anyways, she had to go back to her scrolls.

She dragged her companions out the of the Hokage tower and back towards Naruto's apartment. The complex had been the easiest place to store all of their miscellaneous scrolls and weapons. No one ventured into his apartment or even went within ten feet of the doorway. It was the perfect place to hide something. People didn't even seem to care when they accidentally set off chemical explosions.

They had all sat down awhile ago and had the 'teammate talk'. Since they were officially a team everyone would have to pull their own weight. They had all decided to take different roles and try and specialize in certain fields. Everyone was good in something different, but their team had to be well rounded. If they were missing an important aspect of the team they would have to assign someone to learn that particular trait.

There were generally four types of missions: information gathering, kidnapping, guarding, and fighting missions. Each type of mission required different traits of its members to make the mission a success.

For example, information gathering missions typically required one infiltrator to go directly into the heard of the organization to pick up hearsay from the enemy. They also needed one stealth master to sneak into the offices of the higher ups to copy documents and plant bugs. Lastly, they would also need someone that could blend in to the surrounding populace. What people thought about the organization would be just as important as what the members were actually doing themselves. Allies could appear in any way, shape, or form and a ninja had to always be prepared.

Kei had been an easy choice for becoming the spy to sneak inside, but Shikamaru had been harder to place. He tended towards mental work instead of being physically strong. It was in no way average and it would easily make anyone suspicious as to his loyalty. Geniuses didn't just walk about village streets after all. After some debate, Shikamaru was to being the ear of the townspeople. It was much less dangerous for him if he got caught by some baker rather than a yakuza boss. Though admittedly they would have to give him supplementary lessons on how to act relatively normal and not so smart. That left Naruto with infiltration. The blonde did that well enough anyways considering his nature. There was just something about him that made him naturally calming. That added with how well he imitated Asuma considering a few hours head start made him a strong candidate for the position.

Kidnapping missions were fairly easy to sort out. The missions weren't particularly common as they had poor name recognitions, but it was good to be prepared for them all the same. They were conventionally ordered by countries to try and capture rogue ninja when hunter nin were off chasing the bigger fry. That and the hunter nin typically refused to capture the rogues alive instead of dead.

For these missions they would need an information gatherer, a combatant, and a support soldier. Needless to say, Kei took information, Naruto, combatant, and Shikamaru, support. The logic was easy enough to follow. Shikamaru's **Kagemane no Jutsu** was a strong support jutsu, but it had little offensive potential. If the person he was controlling got damaged it would translate back to him and it immediately made the jutsu much more risky than before. Naruto on the other hand appeared to be a natural fighter. He wasn't at all good at ninjutsu or genjutsu, but he had a knack for taijutsu that left him better off than his partners.

Guarding missions were slightly more annoying. Mainly because you had to sit around like a sitting duck until someone attacked you. Your enemy immediately starts out with the advantage because they will know the ground better than you. If you are protecting a moving target then your enemy can even choose the battleground and prepare it for an ambush. The risks ran higher than even assault missions and it quite irritated the trio.

The missions would conventionally need two combatants and a defender. Naruto was an easy pick for a combatant as per usual, but the second combatant... Kei and Shikamaru got into a heated debate about why the other was more suited for the job than the other. Shikamaru eventually won much to Kei's displeasure. He had developed a tactic with the **Kagemane no Jutsu** to create a ring about a meter thick with a radius of about five meters. If anyone stepped onto the ring they would be ensared in his jutsu. So far he had managed to take control of about three people before reaching his limit, but he promised to work on it.

This left Kei in the unfortunate position of finding some way to become a combatant. They had done some group brain storming without much success in that department. They had all decided to talk about the matter later much to her chagrin.

Lastly there were fighting missions. The typical set up Kei found was of a combatant, a support, and a medic in case of injuries. Naruto of course took the first role. Shikamaru was a painfully obvious second leaving Kei once again with a field she knew absolutely nothing about. She almost felt as if the two boys were conspiring against her.

She stormed into the shabby apartment and plopped down on her companion's bed. The pile of scrolls beside her had slowly grown over the past few days as she had absconded with nearly half of the library. Neither boy could really blame the girl, but they didn't really understand it either. They had never learned well from scrolls and it was like reading a page full of nonsense and expecting to find the answer to the meaning of life in it. It just wasn't going to happen.

The two boys huddled in the corner of the room whispering to each other. If they could be called whispers that is. "Shikamaru-san! I'm telling you, this is a killer way to work out! You're going to melt into goosh unless you work out more! Kei-chan even told me that exercise helps build chakra stores so come on already!"

"Yes, Nara-san." A malicious glint entered Kei's eyes. "Why don't you go run a few dozen laps around Konoha? I'm sure it would be extremely beneficial for you. Uzumaki-san will keep you company." Shikamaru paled. He had just finished traipsing all through the forests to find Tora. Surely they wouldn't really make him run laps around Konoha?

"Of course, Kei-chan! Let's go, Shikamaru-san!" Naruto jumped up from the ground and grabbed Shikamaru by the wrist and tugged him out the door.

Kei blinked slowly as she stared at the open door and smiled. She still held a grudge over the combatant deal and revenge was sweet.

-TSUME-

Shikamaru stumbled towards the door wearily. He tumbled to the ground and leaned against the apartment. The sound of his own wheezing was a sort of song that lulled him gently to rest. It was now eight in the evening and they had run for the past few hours. Some people were not naturally built for endurance and some people were. Naruto plopped down on the ground beside Shikamaru with an inquisitive look on his face.

"What's wrong, Shikamaru-san? You that tired? I mean I'm a bit tired, but you must really be out of shape! We have to do this more often." Shikamaru froze in horror. He coughed into his hand and stood up jerkily from the ground. He twisted the door open and headed into the room.

His eyes widened for a moment as he realized the lights were off. He stepped farther into the room when he was knocked onto the floor. He grunted as he was tossed against the wall. The boy looked to find his assaulter only to see a flash of green before a hand covered his face. Shikamaru struggled weakly against the attacker only to pause for a moment. He felt a foreign chakra inside of his system, but it didn't seem to be aggressive.

"390." The hand pulled away from his face to reveal the shadowed form of Kei. "Before you ask, I didn't think you'd be willing to let me smother your face so I did it while you were weakened." Shikamaru narrowed his eyes at the blase girl as she turned back to her notebook.

"What was that blasted maneuver for anyways?" The normally lazy boy leaned back against the concrete wall with an irritated expression. It would be hard to find someone who actually enjoyed being suffocated.

"Your chakra levels. Chakra has a base to which it refills as you rest or eat. After exercising enough you can broaden the base and increase your levels. However, you can calculate the chakra levels by people by assigning numbers. Numbers are assigned to the durability of the chakra, resistance to foreign invasion, coloration of your chakra, and the speed of circulation throughout your entire system. "

"You were mediocre at best when it came to durability, resistance, and speed of circulation, meaning that you only had good coloration. The coloration reflects the potency of the chakra when you let out chakra bursts. Durability is generally how easy it is to break when another chakra comes in contact with it like an enemy ninjutsu. Resistance would be to techniques such as the Yamanaka mind technique. Most people have low resistance, but that doesn't mean we don't have to work on it." A edge entered her voice before she continued on.

"Lastly, the speed of circulation tells how fast your chakra system will rebuild. When you run out of chakra you wont get it back for at least two days. In layman's terms, it's absolutely pathetic. We'll work on that, but you are prepared for some lower level jutsu. The forbidden jutsu will take you a few months or years before you learn any good ones. There are a few junky ones that were tossed in there for meager reasons like personal vendettas. I have one in mind. Now where is the idiot?"

Kei searched the room before seeing a shadow creep across the doorway. She meandered towards the door and poked her head out. The maroon hair covered Naruto's face as the boy squawked in surprise. "Kei-chan! What was that for! Mou..."

"I need you to hold still for a moment, Uzumaki-san." Without waiting for a reply she whacked him soundly on the face with a flash of medical chakra. She hummed for a moment before drawing back her hand. She stared at the appendage curiously before smacking him a few more times against the face. "How..."

Kei turned away from the complaining youth and snatched the scroll she had been reading from the bed. She shot furtive looks towards the blonde and then back to the scroll. "What is it, Kei-chan?" Naruto slowly approached the bed and glanced over her shoulder at the scroll.

"Your levels... 2045. They're too high, but I retested you a few times... They have to be right." Naruto looked to the side silently. The temperature in the room seemed to drop for a moment as a freezing look crossed the Uzumaki's face.

"Uzumaki-san?" Kei looked nervously over towards her teammate.

"It's nothing. Just nothing."

**Sorry, this is not only late, but short and crappy. Forgive me. I'll try to update sooner next time! Also I'm trying to figure out how to reply to reviews in other ways than from in the actual chapter... Anyone tell me how? I really want to reply to all of you, but I'm a disaster at the computer. My friend actually set up my fanfiction account a year or two ago... Who knows what she did to it...**

**In case none of you have noticed yet... My spelling is atrocious. Did you know I found six different ways to misspell atrocious? I wonder if I should get a beta... Following that thought, how do I get a beta? If any of you guys spot spelling mistakes please tell me and I'll try to correct them. Thanks!**

**Ajd09: Thanks so much for the review! I love how much you read into it. I'm glad you noted the change in psyche with Naruto! I purposefully left out the dream about Hokage and made him more relationship oriented. Shikamaru wasn't introduced to shogi until Asuma? That's practically a crime! (weeps sadly) Poor Shikamaru...And I'm glad you like Kei. I was really worried about how she would be received since the general rule of thumb is that OCs turn out really cliche and they should be hidden away. In response to the question about her noticing Mizuki, I always pictured Mizuki as being a spy since the moment he entered the chuunin station. She wouldn't have noticed him acting differently since he was naturally evil. **


	5. A Lie or a Secret

Though we have heard of stupid haste in war, cleverness has never been seen associated with long delays.  
**-Sun Tzu**

Chapter 4: A Lie or a Secret

It hadn't been exactly comfortable after **that** **conversation**. They had all dispersed soon afterwards because of the mood. The room was chilly though Shikamaru just couldn't figure out why. Obviously the high numbers had something to do with Naruto's mood, but what? Shikamaru had done a bit of brainstorming on his own.

He had managed to slip into the shinobi library before it closed and checked out _A Statistical Guide to Chakra Levels_. He sat on his bed quietly flipping through the volume in his lap. The book had nearly four hundred pages filled with data and he didn't have the time to read through the entire thing. The index had listed chapters detailing information on the levels depending on the numerical rank the person had. Briefly, he recalled Kei saying that Naruto's rank was 2045.

A finger scrolled down the index until he reached the bottom. Chapter 28: Chakra Levels 2000+ on page 392. His dark eyes narrowed. The book chronologically rated the levels and if Naruto was near the absolute back that would definitely require for him to have jonin level chakra stores. Shikamaru turned the book on its back before pulling open the back cover. He turned five pages over to the chapter beginning and began to read.

_Upon discovering a chakra level over 2000, it is advised that the person be retested a few more times for confirmation. If the retests give the same result, it is strongly recommended that the person be restrained for public safety. The average jonin chakra level of 1700 is the conventional limiting base for shinobi safety. Advanced chakra levels over 2000 can have detrimental effects on the person such as schizophrenia and dissociative personality disorder. _

_The cause of such levels must also be examined. Through medical studies, medical ninja have found that even through breeding of ninja with high chakra stores, no normal ninja can reach stores over 1900. Thus, other means must have caused the rank. A study to note is the jinchuuriki Killer B from Kumogakure. After examnination, Killer B was noted to have stores at 2872 at the time the study was produced. Several updates to the study show that his stores have since then grown to 3189. _

_It is therefore believed that these chakra stores can only be obtained through a connection with a tailed beast or another creature of that nature. Humans with bloodline limits have also shown an affinity for a higher chakra rating such as Uchiha Madara. Before his defection, he reportedly had a chakra level of 2391. _

_Any discovery of levels over 2000 is to be immediately reported to the nearest authority possible. If anyone is suspected of having said levels, it should also be reported for the safety of fellow shinobi. If someone of this nature is obtained, they are to be restrained until a personage of authority decides what to do. _

Shikamaru closed the book softly and stared back at the creased leather. The boy puzzled over what the book had told him. Most notably he thought about the causes. It spoke of a 'jinchuuriki, but what was this jinchuuriki? Shikamaru set the book over to the side before slipping out of his room. He padded down the hall towards his father's office and peered through the door.

His father was huddled over an oak desk scribbling madly onto various sheets of paper. The sound of the door opening hardly fazed the man as he continued on with his work. "What is it, Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru scanned the busy room quickly before turning to look at his father. "Father, what is a jinchuuriki?" Shikaku's pen froze mid-word. The utensil shook ever so slightly in the man's grip before being put down on the table.

"Who told you that word, Shikamaru?" The elder's eyes flashed dangerously as he stared down his son. The casual man was now replaced with someone that was purely business. Shikamaru flinched under his father's calculating glare. He had seen people submitted under his father's political pressure, but had never truly been rebuked before. Mother had done plenty of that, but never his father, his mentor.

"I just heard it on the street. I can't say who." Shikamaru lied. It tasted bitter in his mouth lying like that. It was a protective response though. Shikaku reacted so negatively to the word that Shikamaru knew that if he mentioned the book he had read it in, it would be confiscated. He couldn't let go of that volume quite yet.

Shikaku leaned back into his chair and sighed. "Even if I don't tell you, you will dig for the information won't you?" The defiant look in his son's eyes was all he needed as a reply. "Sit down, Shikamaru." He motioned to the shorter wooden chair beside him. Shikamaru twitched as he looked at the chair. It was ever so obviously lower down than his father's chair which if he remembered correctly, had been given another six inches in height for that purpose. It was a fantastic intimidation technique.

He sat down in the light chair and calmly looked at his father. They knew better than to hide things from one another. Or, they had known. Shikamaru had just broken the cycle a minute ago. "You can't tell another else what I'm about to tell you, Shikamaru. This information is still technically a secret, though less so. A jinchuuriki is a bearer of one of the nine demon animals. I'm sure you've heard the legends about that."

That he had. Raccoon, Cat, Turtle, Gorilla, Elk, Slug, Beatle, Octopus, Fox, they were the nine animal spirits of the world that infested the corners of the ninja continents. They fed upon ill will and manifested themselves in the hearts of the evil to ravage the land. In the normal style of all tales told to little children, the spirits would assault little children that lied to their parents. He laughed softly. Would one of those beasts come after him now? He seriously doubted it.

"The spirits do exist. They inhabit humans, but they do not will it. However, they make do in their containers. Shikamaru, if you ever encounter one of these **jinchuuriki**..." He spat out the word with disgust, "Run away from it. They are the devil, Shikamaru. The human container had no way to possibly retain any shred of humanity after being one with a demon for so long. Promise me that, Shikamaru."

Shikamaru stared at the floor. All he had to do was play connect the dots. Naruto had to have a spirit within him. The boy obviously didn't come from a bloodline and even then he would have had to go through extensive training to reach such a level. To start out with such a high rank he would need to have one of these 'demons'. He clenched the arm of his chair until his fist turned white.

Naruto. The boy couldn't be a demon, could he? His father had told him so, but was it really true? There was a fine line between brainwashing and giving advice because you knew more than the other person. It was just hard to figure out the difference between the two. His bangs drifted before his eyes as he wracked his mind for answers.

Naruto hadn't seemed to be evil. He was kind to the point of willingly hurting himself for others. He had made a commitment to always protect his friends. Shikamaru had looked him straight in the eyes when he had said that. There wasn't a shadow of doubt when he said those words. Shikamaru just couldn't force himself to believe that the blonde was lying. However... His mind drifted back to an hour earlier when he had left the blonde's apartment.

The boy had been so cold to them at the mention of his counts. He appeared as a totally different person for that brief moment. It kind of scared Shikamaru. Was that the demon in him speaking? "Shikamaru?" Said boy jumped in surprise as he looked back up at his father. He remembered his father's request and bit his lip before saying, "You know I can't keep that."

Surprise flickered in Shikaku's eyes before the cold mask was put on once more. "A-ah. I see you realize now... Don't tell anyone this, Shikamaru. But if you ask the Hokage, I'm sure he would be willing to place you on another team. Anyone would understand your reasons for the switch."

Shikamaru paused for a moment before shaking his head. "No. I'll stay with them. **Both** of them." He emphasized 'both' as he fixed his father with a compassionate glance. "You said it yourself, didn't you? Jinchuuriki's are containers. They are not the demons themselves. I imagine the demon can only surface in its jinchuuriki if the jinchuuiki is weak enough to break under the creature's advances. Naruto isn't like that. He's..." He breathed in before finishing, "He's the kindest person I know."

They were two entities, Naruto and the demon. Shikamaru would not fall into the mistake of confusing the two.

-TSUME-

A rapping on the window brought Kei to her senses. For a moment she thought she had imagined the sound, but the sound repeated once more. She turned towards the window to see a small sparrow had lighted upon the sill. The brown and white bird gave a muffled cheep from outside the glass before tapping a few more times. The girl groaned in annoyance and got up from her futon and stretched her back.

She flipped open the window latch and pushed open the glass. The sparrow cheeped in happiness before lighting on the girl's hand. It arched to the side to reveal a small scroll wrapped around its leg. "Calm yourself down, Tsuki..." Kei mumbled to the sparrow. The birds they had all been assigned to had been given names. At least, Inoichi said they had been assigned names. Team Tsume had been given messenger birds to communicate with Inoichi for summons. Kei was given Tsuki, the sparrow. Naruto received Hime, the raven. Lastly, Shikamaru partnered with Kin the mourning dove.

Tsuki was a brat to say the least. She would not stop pestering you until you had already read the entire message, she would track your eye movement, and write a response. Kei wasn't quite sure why she had to write a response to a single word message, but she did. She unlatched the scroll and read the message. **Come**. That was the only thing that their sensei had told her? He didn't even give her a place and time!

She grumbled slightly before fumbling around for a stick of charcoal. Of course, the ever so helpful bird was pecking at her forehead while she did so. She finally found a stick and wrote down, **Yes, Sensei**. She tied the paper back around the sparrow's leg before sighing as the bird took off. Her ruffled hair was pulled messily back into a ponytail as she began the painful process of slopping herself towards the training grounds. If Inoichi didn't say when or where, it would safer to assume he meant their group place and that he meant right now. What a nuisance.

She pulled on her ninja gear, a small assortment of goods that primarily came from the discount rack. The wise fellow that decided to give genin mediocre amounts of money should have been cursed. Your parents immediately assumed that since you were making money, you didn't need **their money** anymore. Good thing that each D rank brought in about enough for a small bowl of ramen if you didn't add in any meat.

Kei sighed woefully as she finally fastened the leather belts around her waist. Fishnet underneath her vest had been a rather cheap way of dress compared to the silk heat resistant clothing. She realized she looked slightly like a rainbow with her brown shorts, red shirt, black neck band, and orange wrist guards. But a discount was a discount and she was going to have to make do for a good while.

She left her house and closed the door behind her softly. It was still five am and no doubt her parents were still asleep like any normal human being. She padded down the dirt streets as she headed towards the grounds. The residential district sat on the farther outskirts of Konoha which made travel to these impromptu meetings convenient. The small rock placard on the ground signaled that she had reached Training Ground 17.

Before her, Inoichi was sitting on the ground and feeding Tsuki a bit of bread. She hid the sound of her footsteps as she made her way behind her sensei. "You enjoy training them to torture us, don't you?"

Inoichi turned around to face her with a smile on his face, "Now, now. You don't think your beloved sensei would purposefully try to annoy you, do you?" The skeptical look on her face said otherwise. Inoichi feigned hurt and put Tsuki back in her bird cage.

"I am sorry for leaving you three to your own devices, but I have something to make up for it. I'll wait for the other two to arrive though." He waved Kei over and patted the ground beside him. The girl sat cross-legged on the earth and waited. "What has happened in the past week, Kei-chan? Is there anything you want to tell me?"

The incident last night flashed across her mind. She had read all sorts of analysis on chakra levels and clearly a rank over 2000 without any sort of professional training was not normal. The book advised for her to alert authorities if any such level was found, but some things didn't quite add up. Naruto had been tested before entering the ninja academy for his chakra rank. The medical nin had to have seen this before her, but they didn't act upon it.

She had noticed how they had all despised the boy when he came to his checkup. They all scowled at his mere presence and didn't perform their examinations all too gently. Had they been bribed to pass him as acceptable? No, that couldn't have been right. If they were being black mailed they would see him as someone that could give them all hell. They were treating him far too poorly for it to be blackmail. It would have to be willful hatred then.

It was probably linked to what the townspeople talked about. **The demon**. From what she had seen, it was Konoha's best worst kept secret. She had heard the whispers about the demon when Naruto passed by, but when she inquired as to the nature of his 'demonic heritage' the conversation was immediately diverted. The information gatherer in her wondered what they were hiding, but the other part thought it would be best if she didn't know. If such a multitude was committed to keeping it a secret perhaps it would be better for her not to know.

She did have a sneaking suspicion she knew what the secret was though. It was just a matter of confirming if it was true or not. Was Naruto really the Kyuubi? She didn't really know how it would work with him being the Kyuubi. However, the Kyuubi was known as the demon which ravaged Konoha twelve years ago. The date would make sense for Naruto's birth after all. However, Naruto didn't really look that much like a nine tailed fox to be perfectly honest. For Naruto to be considered a demon and for him to be walking free on the streets, it had to be something genetic rather than an evil he had done. If he was really a mass murderer he wouldn't be let off scott free, right?

Kei looked back up towards her sensei before shaking her head. Naruto didn't seem evil. He'd done plenty to earn her trust. She rather liked him. He had obviously wanted to avoid the subject of his high chakra levels. Bringing it up with Inoichi would do little to make him feel better about it. Inoichi probably knew anyways from the medical report. In fact, her knowledge of his chakra levels would raise unwanted questions and it would be best to avoid the entire ordeal.

"Not much. We did fourteen D ranks this past week, including five Tora missions. I think that cat made me swear off any pet cats for the rest of my life. I'll get nightmares." Inoichi laughed at the maroon haired girl. He squinted his eyes down the road before getting up. The two figures down the road waved at him as they approached.

Shikamaru glanced over towards Naruto meaningfully. The genius had gone over to Naruto's after receiving his summons. The blonde was consistently slow to rise and Shikamaru knew he had a good chance of catching the boy before he left. They had needed to have a little talk.

"_Uzumaki-san?" Shikamaru rapped on the door patiently before the door was opened. The blonde peered out at his comrade through the window before looking away. He unlatched his door before joining Shikamaru on the outside. "Hey." Naruto murmured softly. He turned the key in its latch before pocketing the metal. _

_The walk was silent, at least for a little while. Shikamaru broke the silence, "I know." Naruto froze in place before continuing on stiffly. A thousand thoughts ran in the jinchuuriki's head. He had known that eventually both of them would find out about him, but he never wanted it to be so soon. Everyone that learned about his 'condition' hated him from then on out. No one wanted to befriend the demon that massacred their brothers and sisters. _

_Naruto loved Shikamaru and Kei as friends. He didn't want to lose them so soon. Not yet. A shadow fell over his eyes and he made a small whimpering sound. He didn't want them to shun him... A hand clasped his shoulder and held it tightly. Cerulean eyes looked up pleadingly at Shikamaru. "Don't worry about it."_

_Confusion overwhelmed him. "Why?"_

"_You're not __**it**__. Pandora's Box was not evil in of itself. It contained evil, but it was not evil." _

Naruto smiled widely at his sensei. It felt as if a burden had been lifted from his heart. Of course he still worried about what his other friend thought, but at least he would have Shikamaru. And this had been the first time anyone had explicitly told him that he was not evil. Even Inoichi had always skirted around the subject when it came up. Being told that he was normal made him feel so... free.

"So what do you have for us, Sensei?" Inoichi blinked at the beaming boy before recollecting his thoughts. He secretly wondered what had happened to make the genin feel so happy. Surely it had not been the D ranks.

"A few of the other senseis and I have decided to set up collaborative genin tests. Admittedly, it is a sort of competition among us as our students compete with one another, but it serves another purpose. I have always told you, 'Knowledge is Power'. Unfortunately it is hard practicing information gathering unless you have another party around. So these meetings will become your practice sessions and the other genin will be your subjects. I want you to glean as much information as you can from the other genin and tell me what you learn."

"I don't want anything like, 'Kiba likes dogs'. Tell me how he thinks. Tell me if he has an imbalance in his stance. I want to know if he twitches an eyebrow when he's worried. Nonverbal cues are just as important as the verbal ones, you know."

"The first group mission for you all is at noon today. You still have a good six and a half hours to prepare for it. In that time I'll give you a briefing and something else to toy with. Are there any questions beforehand?"

He looked at his squad. Inoichi was rather proud of their dedication. He hadn't just left them to their own devices for no reason. It was a test of their dedication to becoming real ninja. A mere genin would have just taken the time to go play while their sensei was gone. However, a ninja would have continued on with missions.

As no questions had been presented, he continued on. "The jonin senseis have hidden four artifacts around the village. At the time we all group together I'll reveal the clues for each artifact. If I gave them to you now you'd have a time advantage. However, we designed them so that you'll have to use different ninja skills to retrieve each item."

"Of course, there'll be a little incentive if you manage to get all the items by the time limit of 6pm. My incentive for you three has to do with what I'm about to introduce you to." Inoichi stuffed a hand into his breast pocket and took out three slips of paper. "These are chakra sheets. They help determine your first elemental affinity."

He handed each of his students a piece before adding, "Try and insert your chakra into the paper. When my sensei first taught us how to insert chakra into objects he said, 'pretend the object is on fire and it's burning your hand off'. A crude way, but naturally our minds react to the pain. Our chakra systems then try and force bits of chakra into the appendage that is hurt and it can transmit to the item. Don't worry if it takes you a few tries. It took Shikaku nearly two hours before he stuffed enough chakra in."

Naruto eyed the paper cautiously. He flipped it about a bit and pulled slightly on the edges. By all means it was just an ordinary piece of paper. Was it really supposed to tell them their elemental affinity? He had heard that ninja normally never mastered their first affinity until they became jonin. From there on they were taught how to gain access to their second affinity. The entire process had interested him.

With two affinities you could mix elements, such as wind and water, and create something totally new, like ice. His delusions of grandeur seemed somewhat dulled down now as he stared at they brown paper. Something a bit more explosive with glowing lights seemed more fitting for the discovery. The boy sighed before trying to force chakra into the paper. Nothing.

Naruto growled at the sheet and tried again. There was still nothing. "Now look here. I don't like you, and I'm pretty sure you don't like me. Then again it is hard to tell. But just work why don't you?" He hissed. Over the next fifteen minutes he tried all sorts of things. He imagined being caught in a burning building, having his hand cut off, and even being stuck with Tora. Nothing seemed to be working.

"JUST WORK, DARN YOU!" He yelled at the sheet. Chakra flared out around him before the paper split into two pieces. The other half of the paper slowly drifted down onto the ground. Naruto looked at the piece in his hand and then back to the one on the ground. "OH YEAH!" He whirled around to his sensei before bounding to where the man stood. "Sensei! Look, look! I got it!" The boy glowed with pride as he held up the piece of paper in his hand.

Inoichi quirked a brow before smiling back at the boy. He ruffled Naruto's hair before saying, "Congratulations, Naruto-kun. You're a wind affinity." Inoichi was already scrolling through possible tutors for Naruto. The wind affinity wasn't particularly common in Konoha. He, himself, was an earth type. As far as he knew, Sarutobi Asuma and Shirakumo Hayama were the only wind affinities within the hidden village. Asuma recently got his own batch of genin so it would a bit cruel to ask him to take on another student if only temporarily. Hayama on the other hand was a fine jonin without a squad of his own. Perhaps he would take on Naruto. Inoichi made a note to ask the man later.

"It seems Shikamaru-kun is the last one to find his affinity. I have a feeling it is genetic." Inoichi lamented sadly. The spiky haired boy was sitting crossed-legged on the ground in the midst of a staring contest with his paper. His normally lazy eyes were narrowed viciously at the sheet of paper. Inoichi shrugged before turning back to his other two students.

Kei was the first to find her affinity. It was fairly average considering her low chakra levels. While Shikamaru was a 390, Kei was a mere 239. Her chakra control would be the strongest of the trio considering how little of it there was. Kei poked the soggy sheet aimlessly as she pushed it further into the dirt. A few tears had accumulated in the paper as she continued the boring action. A water affinity seemed to suit the girl though once again Inoichi was hard pressed to find her a tutor.

Water affinity users had been herded towards the other hidden villages and had generally abandoned Konoha. Konoha was primarily an earth and fire affinity village now. A few lightning users were mixed in, but it was rare to find one of those. It seemed Inoichi was cursed with two students with rare affinities. The only jonin he remembered with a water affinity was Hatake Kakashi. Even then, Kakashi only used water as a supplementary affinity to his base one.

Kakashi was also bridled with his own three genin. If memory served, Kakashi had received the Inuzuka, Uchiha, and Haruno. The two boys were sure to be a bundle of trouble, but perhaps Inoichi could convince Kakashi to give scraps of help. A little 'convincing' might be necessary though.

"How troublesome... Inoichi-sensei! I got it." Shikamaru pointed at the cloud of dust in palm before blowing the earth into the wind. He got up from the ground before dusting himself off. His palms went back behind his head and he leaned back into them. It was time to rest again. Conserving energy was an important ninja trait after all.

-TSUME-

"Shut up, Uchiha." Kiba hissed at the black haired boy beside him. The monosyllables were really beginning to frustrate him. Heck, next thing everyone knew there would be a certain dead body on the ground. The beloved prodigy had nothing on him. The boy had the fame. Oh yes, he certainly had that. The tragic Uchiha heir that had his family assassinated right before his very eyes. Yeah yeah, it was tragic, but the boy seemed to have some sort of morbid pride in the fact! The holier than thou thing was enough to make anyone mad.

"Hn." Sasuke grunted out. He looked away from his 'teammates' with disdain. Why had he gotten stuck with the two stupidest ones of the lot? The Haruno girl had little to no value at all. He had taught her quickly enough how worthless she was. She was nothing more than an eyesore to him and everyone would be better off if she just quit being a ninja. And the Inuzuka? He had the brain the size of a grain of rice. The boy thought with his nose and kept on hauling along a white mongrel. Neither of them deserved to be in the same team as him.

Sakura looked between the two boys despairingly. Her dream of becoming Sasuke's bride had become shattered almost immediately after being near the boy. She couldn't help but choke up at remembering their first team meeting.

"_You... I have no time for worthless wretches that cannot even begin to compare to my own strength. You have no potential. You have no skill. You have nothing. Just stay out of my why. Better yet, leave this team. I have no use for worms."_

She lowered her head and let tears prickle at the corners of her eyes. Some part of her still hoped that she would be able to kindle some sort of relationship, but it was quickly dwindling. But she couldn't quit being a ninja now, not after all the money her family had put in to her education. The pinkette hardly knew where she could possibly start becoming a respected shinobi. She had begun running and lifting exercises, but it all came so slowly. Every day it seemed there was no change and every day it seemed that her motivation dwindled.

Her legs swung back in forth as she sat on the wooden bench. The other teams were going to be arriving soon, albeit they didn't know which ones. She looked up at her sensei, silently pleading him to stop her teammates from fighting. Kakashi flipped another page in his book and cast a wayward glance up at the two boys and back at the girl before shaking his head. There wasn't anything he could do that would bring a conclusion to their fight. "It's better to just let them get it out before the others arrive."

Kakashi hadn't failed countless genin teams for no reason. He had never really looked forward to teaching because brats would be brats. There had never been any other group that could make him, the infamous copy-nin, feel so helpless. They had assigned him to tutor the Uchiha heir, but Kakashi couldn't say he enjoyed the job. The boy was a brat. There was no other way to say it. The Inuzuka had his own problems as well, but that was another can of worms.

Kakashi had taken a bit of a shine to the Haruno though. He felt sorry for the girl. She was only twelve and innocence was meant to last longer than that. Children weren't meant to become so sad, not yet. They may have been adults in law, but not in mind.

"Yo! Kakashi-san!" Kurenai waved at her comrade before sauntering over to the bench and plopping down beside the pinkette. "I see your group is as lively as ever." The comment fell entirely flat on the two from Team 7. "My three should be here in a bit. Ah! There they are~" She got up for a moment and waved the three kids over before sitting back down.

Shino quick walked pasted Kakashi before standing on the far side, away from his teammates. His trench coat was pulled higher than usual with only his sunglasses poking out from his hideaway. The Aburame was irritated with both of his teammates and didn't look forward to the exercise one bit. The two were so... infuriating when in one another's presence. Hinata wasn't that bad on her own, but with Teru she became annoying.

The purple haired girl glowed with happiness as she chattered with the blonde haired boy beside her. Teru smiled cockily as he made wild hand motions as he told his story. The two had gotten quite close over the past week and it was clearly visible. "I'm telling you, Hinata-chan, they were this big!" He stretched his hands out as far as he could manage for emphasis. "Golly, I've never seen such big fish before. But my father and me—"

"It's my father and I.."Shino shot back callously before muttering, "you nitwit."

"Ah! That's right, Shino-kun! Well, anyways, my father and I reeled 'em in like it was nothing! It was totally awesome. I wish you were there, Hinata-chan! Oh, and you too, **Shino-kun**." Teru's green eyes taunted the Aburame. It was absolutely infuriating.

Shino was about to reply when a loud screech filled the air. All the genin turned around to gawk at the blonde Yamanaka that was screaming at her teammates. "Stop talking like that already! There's no freaking way that a flowerpot is going to kill you! Be a man, why don't you? Even Choji is better than you though that isn't saying much!"

The brown haired boy dipped his head low at the rebuke from his childhood friend. He looked at the bag of chips in his hand once before putting it away into his satchel. Ino just had this way about making him feel no longer hungry. It wasn't to say that he didn't like her or anything, but he just felt depressed. Maybe they weren't meant to be.

Ryuu looked dully over at his exuberant teammate before commenting, "Yeiko-san was killed by a flowerpot. I'm sure that I could be killed by one. Depends on the flower of course, but it is a viable way to die you know..." The blue haired boy sighed before gloomily looking at the rest of the genin there. He faintly recalled their faces, but he had long ago forgotten their names. How hopeless.

"Yo ho!" A cheery voice called out before scuttling into the crowded courtyard. Naruto waved at his fellow genin energetically. He popped up from behind all of them and greeted them all in a rush. It was really great to see such familiar faces. He was beginning to feel like a shut in after only really seeing five people over the past two weeks.

"How troublesome... Learn how to conserve your strength, Uzumaki-san." Shikamaru slowly sauntered after the boy. He stopped beside Shino and gave the boy a nod in greeting before turning to his teammate. "You're going to burn out before the six hours are over and who knows what we'll have to do."

"Ehh? But I'm really glad to see everyone again! Lighten up, Shikamaru-san!"

"He's right, Uzumaki-san." A feminine voice came from behind above them as Kei sat calmly in one of the neighboring trees. She scribbled a few notes in her booklet about the other teams before starting a new section on the future data she would collect.

The clock struck noon and Inoichi shunshined into the clearing. "I suppose it's time to begin now isn't it?"

OMAKE: The real fish

Teru sat quietly by the river watching the bobbing of his lure down the stream. His eyes widened as he saw the shiny metal being dragged down the stream. It was a fish! He pulled on his rod and watched as the line swerved back and forth. This just had to be a big fish the way it was struggling so much! He got up from the ground and took a few steps back as the fish came to the surface. "I GOT IT!" He pulled sharply on the rod and the fish came flying out of the stream. The fish landed on the riverside and Teru looked at the fish excitedly to see... A minnow of approximately four inches in length.

**Thank you Mzr90! I finally figured out how PMs work so I'll begin PMing all the reviewers back from now on. :D Thanks to everyone for reviewing and adding this story to your favorites and alerts! I know some of you wondered a bit about the other genin teams so it's going to be time for a bit of unhealthy team bonding! Hope to see you all soon~**


	6. Clues

It's no use saying, ''We are doing our best.'' You have got to succeed in doing what is necessary.  
- **Winston Churchill**

Chapter 5: Clues

Inoichi stood beside the other jonin senseis in the center of a small semi-circle. He couldn't help but notice how tired the other jonin looked. Kakashi looked like he had at least taken on another year in age since he had gotten his group. The man's face was worn and frown lines creased his face. He couldn't even will himself to read his book. The man just looked so dead. Inoichi couldn't remember seeing his friend look that way since his two teammates died so long ago.

Kurenai honestly did not look much better. The black haired woman had acquired a nonverbal tic of rubbing her forehead intermittently. She also tended to lash out at her genin and correct even the smallest things, such as their posture. It was surprising how responsibility could change a person. Change was not always a good thing.

Asuma seemed best off out of the three of them. Albeit, he seemed rather noncommittal to his troop. Occasionally he murmured something to his students, but other than that he remained off in his own world. Asuma had never wanted to become a sensei, but after a few years jonin automatically were put in line for teams of their own. It was a bloody nuisance in Asuma's opinion.

Inoichi looked expectantly at the other jonin before sighing. Apparently he'd be stuck with the introductions again. "As you have all probably heard from your senseis, we are going to have a group examination. This test will see how well you know your basic shinobi skills and it will tell us what we need to change in your training regimens."

"Your goals will be to find four different artifacts placed around the village. Each jonin hid a different item for you all to find. The jonin that hid each artifact will give you a single clue. This clue will only be said one time and no hints will be given other than that clue. Understood?" A few heads bobbed up in down while others remained completely indifferent to the blonde. Children these days were so rebellious.

"Alright then. Asuma-san, will you be first?"

The senbon chewing jonin stepped forward and pulled the senbon from his mouth. "Is it an honor or a curse? That's all." He stuffed the dull end back between his teeth and stepped back into line. The cryptic clue rung in all of their minds. It was a simple clue, but something about it cued that there had to be some sort of symbolism to the thing.

Kakashi stepped forth next. "There is happiness in sadness. There is joy and fear. Worlds collapse while others come together. Good luck." Inoichi blinked slowly. It appeared that all of the jonin were presenting rather morbid hints.

"Sweet." Kurenai said shortly. She looked pointedly at Inoichi before turning to the side. The woman would say no more. There would be no encouragements or paltry well wishes.

"Well, I suppose that leaves me last." He cleared his throat before proclaiming, "In it there is love. No one can deny it. One more thing, good luck." Inoichi winked at the genin before shunshining away along with the other jonin.

-TSUME-

"So? Now what?" Kiba looked at his fellow genin with a bemused expression. This was such a simple task. With twelve of them, he was completely sure they could scour Konohagakure without even understanding the clues. They had a full six hours so there would be plenty of time.

"We need a mode of communication. We should also group ourselves in to new team formations considering that our jonin grouped us all together for a reason. Deciphering the clues should also be top priority so we don't waste time and energy needlessly. Did you any of you take down what the clues were?" Shikamaru looked at the baffled genin and sighed. He looked over towards Kei and was calmed when he got a nod in response.

"Who made you leader?" Sasuke glared at the Nara venomously. If anyone was worthy of leading it would be himself, not a lazy kid who was barely passable.

"I agree! I should be leading since my clan has always been known for its tracking techniques." Kiba added haughtily.

"With all due respect," Teru drawled out sarcastically, "You two are both doofuses with no real talent. You two probably haven't learnt anything new since graduation now have you?" The two boys fell silent and sent the boy a vicious glare. "See? Now I on the other hand have actually learned things. And anyways, dog boy, these are **artifacts**. They don't walk, talk, and breathe. And how would you know what to smell anyways? You're thinking with your nose instead of that peanut sized thing in your head." For emphasis he tapped the side of his head. "I vote for Hinata-chan to help search."

"E-eh? Teru-kun, I couldn't do that... I mean, I can help, but not lead." The purplette shook her head vigorously as a light red dusted her cheeks. It was an honor to be put up for vote, but she was completely unready to accept the position. She would hardly even know where to start!

"Can't we all just agree that the ideas themselves are sound?" Shino grunted out. He was started to get irritated with all of the needless banter. Time was ticking. A few of his beetles had already been sent out to scour the town for items carrying the fresh scent of their senseis. It was assuming that all four of them would have travelled together to deposit the items, but it was a start. Something was better than nothing.

"I agree." Sakura mumbled softly. She didn't belong here anymore. What was the point in her even mentioning anything when all that would come out of it was that she'd be ignored? It was slightly depressing to think about.

"Sheesh. Working in large teams really stinks. How about we all finally admit that no matter how long we take someone is going to be unhappy? So let's just shut up and get some good ideas out like Aburame-san and Haruno-san said?" Naruto twitched his brow slightly. With Shikamaru and Kei it was never like this. These people were so... irritating.

Nothing was going to get done like this. This was exactly why Konohagakure only had a small council so things could actually get done. On the other hand, these were all twelve year olds. They mostly had the mental maturity of a peanut at this stage.

Heads turned to look at the blonde before a series of grunts and scoffs came. The interpretation was of vague approval which was good enough for Naruto. He gave an overenthusiastic beam before turning to Shikamaru.

"As I said.." Shikamaru looked at the large clockface in the distance, "fifteen minutes ago, we need a way to communicate with one another as we travel. If one group finds an item before the others we'll need that group to rendezvous with another team to help the search. There are two ways we can do this."

"One, we can have one person play base and receive messages from the field groups. I was thinking of Aburame-san, but once again, it is just a suggestion" He tacked on the end part for the sake of the Uchiha. "Secondly, we could have a person designated to running messages from team to team. If a team completed a mission they would leave a note at the place they said they were looking at. The runner would then read the note and update the other teams. Inuzuka-san would do well for this."

He scanned the eleven forms huddled about him for any signs of disapproval and prompted, "Opinions? We can decide by popular vote." The genin looked amongst one another, silently begging someone else to vote first.

"First plan." Sasuke said shortly. He was soon followed by Hinata, Shino, Teru, Ino, Sakura, Choji, and Kei making it the choice by vote.

Kei looked at the genin for a few moments before walking over to Shikamaru and tapping him on the shoulder. She loathed speaking in front of people, especially people she didn't know. She whispered a few words into his ears before backing off towards the fringe of the circle once more. The boy would be her mouthpiece and speak for her.

"Alright then. We'll try assigning ourselves into three groups with two of them being four man squads and the other one can be a three man. Aburame-san can remain here to communicate with the other groups. A delegate from each group can take on one of the bugs Aburame-san has."

"Shimizu-san had some suggestions for groups if you all are willing to accept them. Group 1: Inuzuka-san, Ino-san, Kimura-san, and Shimizu-san. Group 2: Hyuuga-san, Uzumaki-san, Uchiha-san, and Choji. Group 3: Haruno-san, Hanagaki-san, and myself. Any objections?"

"Che." Sasuke spat out and looked away. It was as close to approval that they would get from the boy. Considering that Ino and Sakura came along with him in practically everything and anything he did, his vote was worth three. Shikamaru looked amongst his teammates for a moment longer before nodding. "Then let's split that way. Shimizu-san wrote down the clues word for word on sheets of paper. Everyone can get one from her and select a group leader to take Aburame-san's bug."

Shikamaru sighed. This organization thing really sucked. It wasn't too bad when there were only two people to lead, but there were just too many now. Thankfully he had gotten stuck with the smallest team. He was deeply appreciative of how the teams were split up.

Each of the three teams had been set up to split Team Tsume amongst all the other groups. It wasn't as if they didn't trust the other genin teams, but they didn't trust them. Kei had also taken into account personalities and had thus put Kiba and Sasuke as far apart as she could. The group with Sasuke and Naruto was practically guaranteed to get little to nothing done so she had to counterbalance those two with Hinata. Her eyes would make her twice as useful if she could active them properly.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when a piece of paper was shoved roughly into his hands. Shikamaru looked up to see Kei staring at him meaningfully. His eyes flickered down to the paper to read the four lines that were neatly jotted onto the note.

The first three were the clues from Asuma, Kakashi, and Kurenai. The last line was a message from Kei.

_Let us be honest. Uchiha's team will not be able to complete a clue successfully. I expect you to solve the clues first so I gave you three of the clues to complete in chronological order. I will also work on Kurenai's in conjunction with Inoichi-sensei's, but I may not be able to easily manage my bunch. Hurry up._

-TSUME-

Sasuke immediately stepped up to the Aburame and put out his hand. Shino raised a brow at the cocky boy before shrugging slightly. Their hands met and a small black beetle crawled out of his sleeve. The shiny beetle made a buzzing sound before fluttering onto the Uchiha's hand. It clicked once before burrowing into the clothes of its new carrier. Sasuke looked mildly disgusted at the ritual before stepping away from the boy in the overcoat.

If he had to put up with this cretin to lead then he would, but that didn't mean he had to enjoy it. The maroon haired girl stepped towards him with a piece of paper outstretched. He didn't particularly remember her name, but the Nara had referred to her as Shimizu. She was at least a fast writer if nothing else. The girl looked abysmally weak much like his teammate. The Uchiha couldn't even faintly remember if there was any woman in his life that was a strong shinobi. He thought for a moment before shaking his head slightly. There was none.

He looked at his group with a calculating eye. The Uzumaki was an idiot. Albeit, he had some redeemable qualities as brute force without a brain. It was handy to have the brawn around and as long as the blonde followed orders like a good dog then everything would be fine. Akimichi didn't appear to be too opinionated. He was large around the waist and Sasuke hoped it wouldn't cause him to be slow. Sasuke would not wait for mere plebians to catch their breath. Lastly, there was the Hyuuga. Her only redeemable quality was that she came from the Hyuuga family. The girl was quiet and looked like the wind could knock her right over. It was pathetic.

He looked at the note in his hand. They had been given free reign over Kurenai's clue. It was such an awful clue to say the least. A single word: sweet. There were multiple ways to use the word sweet. It could be that something was cool. It could be that something was literally sweet in taste, though depending on the person different things could be sweet. It could even be an adjective to describe a personality. The possibilities were near to endless.

But he was a leader. Leader's never showed hesitation, nor did they show their confusion. If he had to pretend that he knew what he was doing, then to heck, he was going to pretend that. "We're going to the Dangoya." It was good to start somewhere and a dango shop was at least a beginning. He'd figure out the real meaning of the clue later.

Choji nodded passively and turned towards the road leading away from the clearing. He gave a short wave back to Ino and Shikamaru before breaking into a slow job down the road. The pattering of feet sounded behind him as his new groupmates followed him out. Well, Hinata followed while Naruto and Sasuke immediately began to race each other. "Oi! Aren't you going to even tell us which clue we got, teme?"

That got the boy's attention. Sasuke sent a chilling glare towards the blonde before swinging out a fist towards his insulter's face. Sasuke was the leader now wasn't he? It was his duty to make sure his lowers were kept in line. Fear was definitely an option. "Your question does not dignify a response." He said shortly before turning back to the road.

"E-erm, Uchiha-san. Why are we going to the Dangoya? Did we get Kurenai-sensei's clue?" Hinata stuttered out in between wheezes.

"Hn." He inclined his head slightly in reply. Hinata accepted the response before catching her breath one more and taking off after the boys.

"Why did you reply to her and not me, teme?" Naruto growled out. He understood why Kei had split them all up, but he would definitely not take this from the brat. The boy obviously had no clue how to lead a group. Naruto was itching to teach the boy a lesson, but now was not the time. Soon, soon he would act.

-TSUME-

"Alright, you two. We have Kakashi's clue. Before we walk about I'd like for us to solve this and head directly to the source. Remember the clue? 'There is happiness in sadness. There is joy and fear. Worlds collapse while others come together.' Do any of you have any ideas?" After retrieving the beetle, Shikamaru plopped himself down beside Sakura on the now partially vacant bench. He had gotten lucky. He had no hyperactive loudmouths or bossy brats on his group.

He could vaguely recall his groupmates from the academy, but only because of their rather unique personalities. What struck him was how different Sakura seemed to be from two weeks ago. The girl had always been rambunctious and peppy, but now she seemed to be totally different. It confused him a bit. Ryuu on the hand seemed to be as depressive as ever.

"It's obviously describing the place and not the item. So it will significantly narrow down the suspects then. There are only so many places a genin can go without running into trouble in the lower districts." Hanagaki mumbled softly. It was true that the lower districts of Konoha were anything but safe. Though they were genin, they didn't have the ability to take on street thugs quite yet. Gangs on the streets ran in packs of nearly ten to twenty so it would be hopeless for them.

"Um... Well the beginning mentions happiness in sadness, but the second part is joy **and** fear. Not joy **in** fear. Perhaps it has meaning?" Sakura added in. The girl looked nervous at the close proximity of her teammates. After all, she hadn't come within three feet of her own teammates since nearly a week ago. The boys had always neatly avoided her for some reason. Sometimes it was if she didn't exist. Even being asked for her opinion was so alien. She loved Sasuke, but she did wish he was a bit more like Shikamaru.

"Good. So can you two think of any places that have caused you to feel fear? It has to be within the boarder so we should be able to figure it out." Shikamaru had an inkling that he already knew the place which was mentioned in the clue. However, it seemed his teammates could both do with a bit of confidence boosting. For now he would try and prod them in the right direction and hopefully one of them would come up with the answer.

"Eto... The cemetery and the hospital I guess..." She replied hestitantly.

"I don't think a cemetery conventionally causes people to feel happy though. They just bury dead bodies in the dirt you know? People apparently cry a lot at those places. I don't really get why though since everyone is just going to die anyways. Sooner rather than later so you don't get as attached to the person you see." Ryuu ranted hazily on about death as his two teammates looked at him as if he had grown another head. Shikamaru know understood why Ino was getting so irritable.

"Right, Hanagaki-san." Shikamaru coughed for a moment before adding, "So shall we go to the hospital then?" Hanagaki looked up towards the lazy genius with confusion evident in his eyes before muttering, "A-ah. We can go." The blue haired boy turned around in a circle before asking. "Do you happen to know where we are?"

-TSUME-

Kei's eyes flicked back and forth between her groupmates. All three of them were not particularly smart or innovative. On the other hand, they were all extremely loud and opinionated. She had a sinking feeling that none of them would take particularly well to any ideas that she brought up. So she would have to try and convince them that they came up with the answer themselves. It would not be easy.

"Ya had the clues written down, right Kei-chan?" Teru smiled innocently at the girl. Kei decided from then that she didn't like him. However, now was not the time to squabble about the fact that he was calling her by her first name.

"Right. We're taking Inoichi-sensei's clue. 'In it there is love. No one can deny it. One more thing, good luck.' Yamanaka-san, you know him best. Do you have any ideas?" Kei said hurriedly. She could act cool and collected in her mind, but when it came to actually talking it was a different thing entirely.

Kiba rolled his eyes, "The last part wasn't part of the clue. He was just wishing us good luck. We should just focus on the main part and be done with it. So we're talking about love. Let's just trash all the bars around Konoha until we find the blasted thing already!"

That was not exactly what Kei was thinking of. She rubbed her forehead before releasing a puff of air. It would take time to get used to people with lower processing speeds than her. Shikamaru could normally keep up and Naruto was perfectly willing to get along with the two of them. These people on the other hand were going to make her dispair.

"Inuzuka-san, my dad isn't as vulgar as to make us all search bars. Trust me, he's a bit more refined than that. I can't say much about your family though." Ino muttered under her breath. She crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her head back to think. It would be just like her dad to do something cruel and put the entire message in a cypher. Unfortunately there were so many possible cyphers. What if he was trying to get them to count the amount of syllables and then average them? Good grief, the possibilities were endless.

No... She bit her lip. It had to be something a bit simpler. He'd want each of his students to have the chance of solving the clue. He would also have no way to know that she was assigned to his clue. Something obvious... "Ugh... Can I look at the paper for a bit, Shimizu-san?" She took the paper that was handed to her and studied the page silently.

"Geez! We should at least start by doing something! I don't care if you girls want to sit about and waste **your** time, but I won't let you two waste **my** time. Kimura-san, you agree don't you? We should just dump the girls and start looking for the clue." Kiba complained.

"Eh? Well the thing 'bout teams is that normally they stick together if you catch my drift." Teru gave a sheepish grin and rubbed the back of his head. He didn't particularly think this was a good use of their time, but leaving the girls wouldn't do them any good at all. However, walking around cluelessly wouldn't make much sense either.

"You're being a sissy, Kimura-san." Kiba snorted back.

"Ah." The attention immediately shifted towards Ino who was blinking slowly at the page. "Got it." The girl handed the sheet back to Kei before turning towards the road. "Come." The blonde seemed to be in a daze as she started shuffling through the street.

Her groupmates shared a confused look before hustling after the girl. "Oi! Where are we going? Tell us, why don't you!" Kiba shouted after the girl as she began weaving her way through the streets. He finally caught up to the girl and grabbed her by the arm. "Oi! What is it now? I want to know before I'm dragged off to who knows where!"

Blue eyes stared him down before the girl admitted, "We're going to father's flower shop." Kei gave a hint of a smile. So she had gotten it. It had definitely taken her long enough.

"Why in Kami-sama's name are we going to your flower shop?" Kiba retorted with a scrunched up look on his face.

"You're an idiot." Ino sighed wistfully. Ignoring the splutters of her teammate, she explained, "In it there is love. No one can deny it. One more thing, good luck**. **The first letter from each sentence spells out my name. So come on already!" The irritated screech was slowly working its way back into her voice. It was almost reassuring that the blonde was turning back to normal.

"Now hurry up! I don't want to have to spend any more time lazing about than I have to." Ino commanded before jerking her arm free from Kiba's grip. She turned and trotted down the street towards her house. A few minutes later, the red paneled sign atop the building signaled that they had arrived.

Teru stood in the doorway hesitantly before saying, "So would I be right in assumin' that we have to turn this place upside down to find the item of which we have no clue what it is?"

**Ok. I think after reading this chapter, it's official. I need a beta reader. (weeps in corner) I've been trying to find one through the 'search for beta reader' link, but all the betas have gone inactive and just have never taken themselves down from the list. If one of you is willing to beta for me it would be great. I don't think anyone is going to try and murder me as much for my grammatical errors as they are for my generally crappy writing when it comes to parts I'm completely uninterested in. Like the second part. **

**I'll wrap up this metso-plot in the next chapter. Soon I'll have Team Tsume deployed out on missions. That'll be where the real interesting stuff happens. **

**p.s. Thanks to everyone who reviewed my story and added it to alerts! I keep on huddling by my itouch to see if there are any updates. /sweatdrop**

**And a shoutout to Mzr90. The PMs you sent were extremely helpful for me to decide where the story is going to progress. :D **


	7. Leadership

Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys.  
Look on them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death!  
-Sun Tzu

Chapter 6: Leadership

"What's next?" Choji sat on one of the seat cushions and chewed on his dango. It was quite handy having them go to a restaurant, but it didn't appear that much was going on around here. A few scattered people around the shop were sitting on various stools and brightly colored seats as they ate their own dango. It seemed very ordinary. Choji had been at Dangoya often enough to remember how the layout looked. Everything looked exactly the same.

So they would have to scour the place. It raised the question: how do you search a joint without seeming to be juvenile delinquents? Choji wasn't particularly sure. They didn't have the authority to search stores so it would be difficult trying to convince the owner they should be allowed in. Even then, Choji didn't want to get on a cook's bad side. They had a tendency to put raw meat into your food as revenge.

Brown eyes looked over towards two of his teammates that huddled in the corner. Naruto had pulled Hinata over to a small two man table and was talking animatedly with her. He cast wary glances towards the Uchiha intermittently. The black haired boy was conversing with the store owner. Fortunately the owner was a female.

"Hinata-chan, listen to me. I think we should overthrow the teme as leader. He has no clue what he's doing and you have to admit he's a pain. We're not going to get anything done with such one sided leadership. So, will you join me? As long as you, Akimichi-san, and I group together then he shouldn't be able to complain too much without us. There's no way to enforce his rule upon us after all." Naruto spoke in a hushed tone. It pained him to be plotting against a squad mate, but they were just temporary teammates. Inoichi on the other hand was sure to torture him if he didn't collect all the artifacts.

"E-eh? A-are you sure that's wise, Uzumaki-san? Wouldn't our sensei get mad at us for doing that? I-I don't think Kurenai**-**sensei would approve of us double crossing one another... E-even if we don't like him as a leader, don't we have a duty to follow him?" Hinata stuttered slightly. Sasuke was still a shinobi of Konoha. Did they have some sort of duty to be on his side? Turning against him just seemed so wrong.

"Inoichi**-**sensei once told me that 'leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.' Sasuke is not being a leader and I do not recognize him as such. The only thing that makes him the leader of this makeshift group is that he has the bug. We take it and there is no 'Uchiha-sama'. So, what do you think?" Naruto flashed a smile and leaned his hands on his fists. What the jinchuuriki didn't say was that Inoichi had also said: To fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting. Naruto would do exactly that.

Hinata bit her lip. It was true that no one had ever officially declared Sasuke to be the leader. Kurenai would have been happier if she actually completed the mission rather than having a power struggle. Doing this would also lend herself to being happier rather than being stuck with a rude commander. "Alright. I-I'll join you. Have you talked to Akimichi-san yet?" It was the best decision, all things considered. Hinata thought it would be kind of sad to not be able to understand her own sensei's clue.

"No. But I wondered if you could present the inquiry for me, Hinata-chan!" A mischievous glimmer entered the boy's eyes. "He'll be more likely to listen to you than to me. Akimichi-san is disposed to remain passive unless the occasion absolutely calls for it. On the other hand, if a girl asks then he'll take a stronger opinion on the subject. He doesn't like saying 'no' too much, if you get what I mean." Naruto shrugged his shoulders innocently and leaned farther over the table. Ignoring the girl's blush he said, "You can do it, right Hinata-chan?"

The purplette squeaked before stuttering out a yes. Naruto felt a bit bad manipulating the girl like this, but Hinata was far too gullible. Inoichi had told them to collect information on their companions, though. It was a command in and of itself so Naruto would follow it. He did understand the practicality, but it didn't stop his heart from quivering a bit. It was so strange to be doing this.

Hinata got up from her seat and inclined her head slightly to her blonde companion before scurrying off towards Choji. His cerulean eyes focused upon the two for a moment. He didn't doubt that this would be pulled off easily, but he needed a second step beyond this. To reaffirm his leadership, Naruto would have to do something to continue the search with success in near sight.

Naruto looked around the Dangoya. A few customers were scattered around the hut. What really caught Naruto's eye was the odd woman out. Most of the customers were civilian, but this woman was a shinobi. She twirled a dango stick between her fingers aimlessly as she stared at the wall. It wasn't something to be overlooked even now.

The purple haired woman sighed and put her head down miserably upon the counter. Kurenai had bribed her to come and sit here for who knew how long. It was downright boring! Anko had noticed the ragtag group of genin enter the dango shop, but they seemed to be making no movement towards her. She would have thought they would think something was suspicious after a jounin sat in a dango bar for not only thirty, but fifty minutes. No one in their right mind would eat dango for that long, not even her.

She itched to walk up to one of the brats and hand them the box, but she could feel Kurenai watching her from outside. Anko grunted in annoyance. Dratted woman would throw a fit if Anko made it too easy for the kids. "Another box, please." She said lazily to the passing cook. The man nodded in return and rushed back behind the curtains to prepare another batch.

Her gray eyes peered back towards the genin to see the blonde staring right back at her. A smile crept across her face. Maybe this one was smarter than the rest. After all, the black haired one wasn't exactly inconspicuous the way he was 'flirting' with the store owner. She sent a cocky smile over at the blonde before turning back towards the counter. Now it was a game to see if he'd approach her or not. She certainly hoped that he would.

Naruto frowned slightly at the lady's back. It almost seemed as if she knew that he would be there. Most people didn't just smile at random people they had never met, especially jounin. Most of the jounin he knew were either strongly maternal or were elitist. This woman was neither of those. Her smile was snubbing him too much for that. He stared at the back of her overcoat a bit longer before he was tapped on the shoulder.

He turned to the side to see Hinata and Choji standing beside his table. Naruto immediately placed the smile back on his face. "So? What do you think, Akimichi-san?" He inquired. The longer he stayed in this place the more wary he felt about that jounin.

"I accept. But if this gets back to our sensei then I want immunity from this. I'll go along with it, but that doesn't mean I'll take the fall if this goes under." The chubby boy nodded solemnly and stuck another stick of dango into his mouth. Sasuke was a proud boy and the thought of his power being usurped would not please him one bit. The last thing Choji wanted was to get caught in the crossfire between the two sides.

"That's acceptable. You don't have to come with me to confront him if you don't wish it. Neither do you, Hinata-chan. It is nice to know you semi-support me though." Naruto cracked a smile before standing up and brushing the nonexistent dust off his person.

"I-I'll go with you! It would help with appearances wouldn't it?" Hinata paused before blushing and added on, "N-not that I'm implying that you aren't a strong enough figure or anything!" She bowed slightly and a slight shiver shook her frame. A part of her felt disappointed in herself for being like this. However, she had grown up like this. Every word could have a double meaning and if someone was offended, then all of hell would rain down.

"Thank you, Hinata-chan." Naruto patted her on the shoulder then proceeded past her and towards the Uchiha at the front table. A part of him chilled as he realized the jounin was watching him. But she was a Konoha jounin, right? It could have just been curiosity in the next generation, or was it something more?

"Uchiha-san, we have something to tell you. If you don't mind coming outside with us?" Naruto gestured politely to the exit before gripping the boy's arm tightly. He jerked the boy outside the curtains before turning on him. "The bug if you don't mind, Uchiha-san?" Naruto held out his hand and smiled innocently.

Sasuke jolted slightly at the question before snarling. "What makes you think you have any right to order me around? This is stupid. You're interrupting me and all you can do is get in my way. Go back to your corner and let me handle this." Sasuke sniffed haughtily before making an attempt to return back to the building.

"A-ah. It's not going to work like that." Naruto grabbed the scruff of Sasuke's shirt and twirled him back around. He grabbed the boy's wrist tightly before looking over to Hinata. "Can you use Byakugan to see where the beetle is?"

"Y-yes! Byakugan!" The veins on the side of her head pulsed out as she began to look over the boy. She looked him over quickly before noticing a chakra discrepancy on the side of his neck. Hinata fed more chakra to her eyes and zoomed in towards the signature. It was the beetle. The faint purple glow of animal chakra confirmed her hypothesis. She formed the release sign and turned towards Naruto and said, "On the right side of his neck."

Naruto sent her a thankful nod and put his hand on the side of the Uchiha's neck. The boy squirmed under his touch and struck out with a fist towards his companion only to be blocked by the Hyuuga girl. Her eyes spoke a silent apology as Naruto found the small beetle. He put out a finger and watched in satisfaction as the beetle crawled up the appendage and down his arm.

The two released the black haired boy and shared a glance. That had worked surprisingly well. "So, let's get down to business why don't we?" Naruto clapped his hands together and gave a malicious smile. "Uchiha-san, how about you go charm some lady and get yourself some dango. Or, if you are in a particularly helpful mood, how about helping us get this clue down?"

Sasuke flushed red with anger. How dare they disrespect him! He had thought better of the Hyuuga until just now. No one had ever shown him such blatant rudeness before, not even his sensei. Kakashi had given him advice, but had never honestly critiqued him. There had been no negative feedback, only positive. Sasuke had to put this behavior under the classification of the two not knowing who they were dealing with. They were just ignorant fools. If they were not in a civilian district Sasuke would have sent aKaton no Jutsuat them.

"If you didn't notice I was getting something done while you both plotted against me. I assume the Akimichi was also in on this? Whatever you may say I refuse to participate in this worthless endeavor. You two may do whatever you wish, but I shall solve this clue on my own without either of your help." Sasuke bit out before turning sharply and heading back into the building.

"That went over surprisingly well, don't you think, Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked innocently. So far, they were all much too predictable for their own good. Sasuke was too easy to manipulate because of his volatile emotions. A well placed prod would get the boy in a flurry with no real effort. It was kind of pathetic. Hinata on the other hand was far too kind. A considerable amount of her time was used thinking about how others would take her actions.

The girl did have some talent despite this and Naruto could see her becoming a strong kunoichi if she learned to forget what others thought. Because of her dependency, she also ended up becoming clingy when it came to friends. In her own team she appeared to attach herself onto Teru, but with him gone, Naruto was the next best choice. The only interesting thing remaining would be to see which one of them she preferred. Would she leave him or would she leave Teru if it came right down to it?

Teru had the advantage of knowing her longer, but Hinata seemed to throw everything into relationships. She would become too easy to break if an enemy approached her.

"Yes it did. You did well, Uzumaki-kun." Hinata smiled broadly and let a twinge of pink touch her cheeks. She was proud of herself. She had even managed to block a strike that wasn't even coming directly at her. Not only that, but Hinata had proven herself to be useful with her Byakugan!

"Come inside then. There's something I think we should check out." Naruto motioned towards the entrance before heading back into the busy Dangoya. He turned towards his former table and gave a thumbs-up to Choji. The round boy returned the gesture before getting out of his seat and walking towards the pair.

"Glad to see you're still alive." Choji said merrily.

"I'm hurt that you doubted me for a moment." Naruto bantered back. "But we've already wasted two hours. We should hurry up since the walk back is an hour anyways." That was the inconvenient thing about being a genin. Your sensei didn't teach you flash step until at least a month or two into training. Their green status meant that none of them could flash back to the courtyard where Shino was waiting for them.

"So what's your great master plan then?" Choji raised a brow and crossed his arms. He had mezzo-supported Naruto because of Sasuke's inability to lead. However, he didn't have much faith in the blonde's own leadership abilities. He had assumed that new blood would have been better than Sasuke, but this would be the test to see if he had any talent.

The Akimichi may have been known for their naiveté and blasé nature, but it was anything but true. A clan didn't last for so many generations by being stupid. Strength was not the only thing that kept their clan alive, they were smart as well. Not as smart as the Nara clan, but they were intelligent in their own right. The Akimichi had a different path of succession from the other clans.

The Hyuuga, Yamanaka, and Nara clan heads all passed on their leadership through their children. The Inuzuka clan chose their head by the strongest female of the pack, preferably of the main lineage. The Akimichi didn't trust in human nature. If a child was born that grew up spoiled and bratty no matter how much the parents tried to change the child, that child would not be heir. The maturity of the child as well as strength played in to choosing the line of succession.

Choji was the unofficial heir of the Akimichi, but was currently nothing more. The boy had been trained for the longest time to be wary of anything that seemed too good to be true. Naruto was one of those things.

"We're in the civilian district, right? You've noticed all the strange looks we're getting just for standing in here. Shinobi don't come around here too often. Not to mention the fact that most people don't eat dango for an hour. Now look over at the bar." Hinata and Choji looked over Naruto's shoulder at the woman that was draped on the counter. The glint of a forehead protector met their eyes and they turned back to the boy.

"She's been here longer than we have. This isn't a bar and they don't even serve sake. You can't eat dango for over an hour and still want more. Akimichi-san, even you are getting tired of dango by now, right?" The boy nodded in return. He could see where this was going. The woman was acting far too suspicious.

"Plus the clues didn't explicitly say that the item would be laying around for us to see. What if someone is holding it for us to take? We should at least ask what she's doing here. What do you guys think?" Choji was pleasantly surprised by the boy. Choji sighed wistfully. Naruto's team was lucky to have him around.

"I-I agree, Uzumaki-kun." Hinata bobbed her head up and down. Now that Naruto had said it, the woman had been sitting there for an awfully long time. Most of the other people had left after the first half hour. The purple haired woman had at least been around for an hour or so.

"Might as well try, right? It can't hurt." Choji nodded his assent and reached back towards the table where his small plate of dango lay. He picked up a stick and chewed on it thoughtfully. He remembered that their sensei hadn't been too particular about what they meant by the item. They had said nothing about it being blatantly obvious what they were to find. Having a person to hold the item was completely fair game.

"Come on then." Naruto motioned to his companions and hopped over towards the purple haired lady. He tapped her once on the shoulder only to find her unresponsive. A frown creased his face and he tapped her again, this time a little harder. The lady still lay trapped over the counter. Naruto twitched in annoyance before poking her soundly in the ear.

"OI! Brat!" Anko lazily got up from her repose on the counter and turned to look at the kids. "Trust me, brat. If a lady ignores you it means that she doesn't want to talk to any munchkins like you. Now beat it." The purplette crossed her legs and leaned back against the counter with a cold gleam in her eyes. Even if the brats were supposed to come and find her, she didn't particularly like being jabbed in the ear.

"B-but... We just want to ask you something..." Anko's eyes widened. Oh no, it wasn't... She turned to look at the young stuttering girl and froze. Drat, Anko always was a sucker for cute little things. The woman grunted and mumbled, "So ask already..."

"D-did Kurenai**-**sensei ask you to give something to a group of genin if they came in here?" Hinata stuttered out. She had gotten the nudge from Naruto that she should be the one talking. She didn't quite understand why she was the one talking, but if it would help she would.

Anko rubbed her hand against her face and groaned. She had always struggled against cute things. Well, Kurenai did say that if the genin came up to her and asked, she should give them the note. After a bit of work of course. The test was completely up to her though.

A mischievous grin worked its way up onto Anko's face. "Give wouldn't be the word I'd use, sweetie. There will be a wee little bit of work involved if you're up for it. If not, then get out and let me go back to sleep."

The genin shared glance before saying, "We can do it." Anko quirked a brow.

"Don't forget to look before you leap, kiddos. Walking around accepting propositions with no questions asked is dangerous. And shouldn't y'all be asking what the Uchiha brat thinks as well?" She jabbed the air in the direction of Sasuke who was in the middle of a one sided conversation with one of the waitresses.

"He's not with us." Choji replied with a yawn. It was true. Sasuke was technically unaffiliated with them now. Perhaps they should ask the bug to relay that. It was a funny think about the beetles. Shino could sense their chakra pulses from extremely long distances. So if the bugs sent out the waves in Morse code, Shino could translate it as a message. Admittedly, Shino must have been incredibly bored all this time.

"Ah." Anko replied skeptically. "Sure. I'd believe that if I didn't have a brain to match my amazing body. Now let's go little grasshoppers! We'll see if you're worthy of getting this artifact of great power!" Revitalized, Anko hopped out of her stool and rushed out the door yelling, "Just add it to my tab!" behind her.

Naruto's eyes widened and he immediately bolted out the shop after the mad lady. He looked around the streets for a moment before spotting her hair from the corner of his eye. "Akimichi-san! Hinata-chan! Follow me!" He waved his arm before diving through the crowds after his query.

"Why are there so many blasted people?" Naruto shoved yet another passerby out of his way as he followed Anko down the street. The woman had the unfortunate advantage of being able to hop across rooftops compared to the genin's slow walk on the ground. It wasn't at all fair.

Anko turned to the right and began heading towards the outskirts of Konoha, much to Naruto's displeasure. The boy growled before cutting his way through an alley only to find a wooden fence barring his way. "Ah shoot." He looked to the edge of the alley and saw a pile of boxes leaned up against the fence. A part of him bubbled with excitement as he began jumping up the boxes.

Shikamaru and he had been running around Konoha quite often, despite the genius's initial disgruntlement. After a few trial runs, they found that running inside the boarders of Konoha was much more effective than simply running laps. The fact was that while running inside a street, you got nowhere fast. To actually get anywhere you would have to use backstreets and smaller corridors to bypass the traffic. If it required jumping over a fence, then heck, they'd jump over a fence.

Naruto landed on the ground roughly before continuing his sprint after the lady in question. He didn't check to make sure his teammates were following him. If they thought about it enough, he was sure they'd just track him down using Hinata's Byakugan. They'd arrive eventually and provide back up.

He worried about what the outcome of this tracking would be. All Naruto had really learned was the academy techniques, and even then his talents for them were abysmal. If it came down to a fight then Naruto was sure he would lose even if the jounin restrained herself to only using a leg.

As he ran along the alleys, Naruto found himself strangely glad of his resident. The Kyuubi helped free up not only his chakra system, but his blood circulation as well. Oxygen passed through his body much quicker than it would otherwise and it helped him keep his breath while running. It gave him a natural advantage in brute force.

The city slowly started fading away into the suburban lots and the crowds started dissipating. Before him, Anko was sitting lazily up upon a willow tree. Her legs swung down carelessly as she rocked them back and forth. At the boy's arrival she let out a bored, "Ah. You finally got here." She dropped down from the branch and landed gracefully on the ground. "It took you a pretty dang long time, boy. Where are your little companions? I'll be screwed if I let any of them get kidnapped or beaten up by thugs."

She looked over Naruto's head to see the forms of Choji and Hinata making their way down the beaten path. "Thank goodness they came. My life is saved!" Anko threw her arms up in the air dramatically before settling herself down upon the ground. She motioned for the kids to join her in sitting.

"So brats. I assume you know what I'm here for, correct?" Not bothering to wait for their answers she continued on, "Yuuhi already told me about your little test. She also told me not to beat you brats into miserable puddles on the ground, which totally sucks the fun out of playing with you. On the other hand, she did give me limited reign on what I would have you do to get the item." Anko stuck a hand into her overcoat and pulled out a small envelope.

She waved it before their faces before sticking it back into her breast pocket. "So, I'm going to play with you three for a bit. Try and avoid getting caught for five minutes and I'll give you the note. You can all try as many times as you like and only one of you has to make it. Ready? You aren't? Too bad. no Jutsu!" Anko flew through the handseals and slammed her hands down on the ground in front of her.

Six snakes appeared in a writhing ball before their heads turned towards Anko. "What do you want thisss time?" Hinata squirmed uncomfortably. Snakes had never been on her favored animal list. In all realism, she would rather be a good ten feet away from any reptile. Apparently it was not meant to be.

"You six get to play tag. Two snakes to a kid. Don't kill them, but for each time you guys catch one I'll get you a piece of steak. Have fun~" Anko chirped happily in a sing-song voice. There was nothing quite like watching people flee in terror from her summons. The snakes could do what Anko never could when it came to terrifying people. Even skinning people didn't work as well as a good snake.

Hinata screamed as two of the green snakes went slithering towards her with frightening speed. The girl jumped up from the ground before turning tail and running. "BYAKUGAN!" The veins on the side of her head pulsed out as her kekkei genkai activated. She saw the gray outlines of the serpents following her. Anko had never mentioned any restrictions on their part, so Hinata assumed anything was fair game. A hand reached down to her kunai pouch and the girl twirled out three of the knives. She threw the kunai a few inches ahead of the snake in an attempt to hit them while they moved, but, much to her despair, they swerved away and the kunai hit the ground. And they never stopped moving.

Choji wasn't much better off. The boy didn't really fear snakes, but he did fear the ominous liquid that seemed to be dripping off of the creatures' fangs. He bolted up from the ground and turned tail much like his female companion. Despite their large size, the Akimichi were not slow by any means. However, they were prone to tiring rather quickly.

A minute into the exercise, Choji was sweating bullets as he stumbled along the ground. A few years ago, Chouza had begun teaching his son some of the Akimichi clan techniques. Unfortunately, he had neglected teaching his son evasion techniques. Choji left several large craters in his wake, but none of them seemed to deter the black and yellow serpents that chased him. Nothing seemed to stop them. Choji had even taken the effort to climb one of the larger trees, only to find that the creatures could slither up the sides!

The tree exploded into a burst of splinters as Choji slammed his chakra imbued fist down upon the wood. He leaped out of the mess while shielding his face to see that the summons had disappeared. The boy sighed in relief before feeling an unfamiliar cold sensation around his ankles. His vision slowly angled down to see the both of the serpents coiled along his legs.

The boy's eyes widened and his heart began to race. His gut reaction made him reach down to pull the creatures out only to have the snake bite him on his fist. He faintly heard the disapproving scolding of the purple haired jounin before things started getting blurry. Choji stared at his hand hazily and noticed the two red marks on his fist. "Ah. Not good." The large boy tumbled to the ground in an unconscious slump.

The brown haired boy's companions all halted for a moment to stare at the body before taking off at double the pace. Both Naruto and Hinata had made the first three minutes with full success, but neither found it remotely easy. Naruto had found himself paired with a kindly pair of spitting cobras. Neither of them was at all reluctant to fire their toxins at him.

He rolled to the side as the dusky red cobra shot another round of poison at him. "Who is she kidding? This isn't remotely safe, dangit!" Naruto scrambled up from the ground and away from the creatures. His mind was going through all of the short list of jutsu that he knew. A bunshin wouldn't work unless the snakes were incredibly blind. A henge would have an even lower probability of succeeding. Kei had mentioned something about giving him a jutsu, but what was the confounded thing? A kage bunshin or something? But what were the handsigns?

Naruto wracked his mind as he continued madly running around the field. "One minute left, kiddos! And don't worry about the fat one. My summon just accidentally injected him with a wee bit too much paralysis toxin. He'll be ok in an hour or three." Somehow Anko's words didn't calm the Uzumaki at all. All thoughts were immediately cleared from his mind as he gave up any hope of a coordinated strike back. He would have to just run like his life depended on it. With Anko's reliability, his life was probably on the line after all.

The next minute seemed to pass slowly for the two. Hinata made it to the four and a half minute mark before one of the snakes managed to coil itself around her feet and caused her to tumble to the ground. Fortunately for the girl, the snake following her wasn't venomous and it merely began constricting around her ankle. Not that it felt much better having a limb squeezed off.

Hinata cried out in pain as she felt a worrying popping sound come from her bones. "Hasn't it been five minutes yet?" Naruto yelled out manically as he flew past his fallen comrade. Hinata gasped as she noticed the jets of acid following the boy. It made her feel almost pathetic after crying from a bit of constriction.

"Eh? Oh yeah! I guess it is five minutes! Come back lil' guys! As promised I'll dole out the food later. Now poof." Anko dispelled the jutsu and sauntered over to the girl that lay upon the ground. "Lemme help you, bratling." She grabbed Hinata by the scruff of her jacket and hauled the girl to her feet before looping an arm around her shoulder.

"You'll be fine in a bit. I didn't hear any cracking so it means no broken bones." Hinata's eyes widened. Anko would have let the snake crush her bones? That was rather much for an exercise, wasn't it?

"You there! The blonde brat! What's your name? You did surprisingly well! I was sure it would take at least a half hour before any of you managed to actually evade them! Though I do suppose you guys only had two chasing each person. If I ever see any of y'all again we'll work on increasing the numbers." Anko smirked at the both of their paling expressions. Kids really were fun. She would enjoy the day she got assigned brats of her own.

"Uzumaki Naruto... Please forget it." Naruto hung his head gloomily. He had to reveal his name as she was technically his superior, but somehow he felt that he had just signed his own death warrant. He didn't even plan on dying any time soon!

"Naw naw. I'll remember it for a good long time, brat! But here." Using her free arm, Anko grabbed the envelope out from her breast pocket. "I suppose you brats deserve it. But now let's work on transporting you guys to the hospital, now shall we?"

None of them even noticed the small beetle sending out microscopic flashes of chakra as they limped towards the medical center.

**The good news is that this is a new chapter. The bad news is I lied about finishing this clue thing up quickly (oops). Depending on how long the other clues take me, you may be seeing more of this. It turned out a lot longer than I originally intended... Ah well. Also in happier news... (Drum roll) I HAVE A BETA! Thanks a lot Pokepikachu1 for betaing for me. He helped me learn about some of the proper Romanji for some of the Japanese words. So I'll be trying to stick to those from now on.**

**I'm trying to get a few chapters out now because next week will be really busy for me. My cousin's getting married and since my family is fairly stingy we are driving down to California... From Washington State (cue getting stuck in uncomfortable car with dog). Hopefully I'll be able to update one more time before then! But if I'm gone, that's where I'll be.**

**Thanks to everyone for reviewing, alerting, and favoriting this story!**

**Katon no Jutsu || Rank C of fire affinity. The user turns his chakra into fire and dispels it from his mouth.**

**Kuchiyose no Jutsu || Rack C of no affinity. A Summoning technique that calls upon any contracts that the user has signed with a creature. The more chakra that is put into the jutsu, the stronger the animal that is brought out.**


	8. Vital Importance

The art of war is of vital importance to the State. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected  
**- Sun Tzu**

Chapter 7: Vital Importance

Shikamaru stood outside the hospital with a dead look on his face. They had narrowed down their clue to being somewhere within the hospital, but he hadn't quite remembered one thing: the hospital was huge. He rubbed his forehead wearily as he looked at the building. The two story building loomed over the genin as they began their slow trek to the front doors. It didn't seem like they would be able to complete this mission soon.

The building bustled with hoards of nurses running to and fro, waving clipboards and the like. It was the picture of chaos. The three squeezed their way through the hubbub and towards the receptionist. The brunette was frantically typing upon her computer. Upon the trio's arrival she merely raised a hand and mumbled an apology. In a few moments she took a break and looked up at the three with a fake smile plastered on. "Yes? What do you want? You don't appear to be either dead or dying so if you have some bruise somewhere, man up."

"Not all injuries are superficial. What if he has a dormant version of cancer that is slowly taking over his body? Symptoms might not appear until it is too late to save him. That is why regular checkups occur. Unfortunately shinobi normally miss these checkups and it causes many of them to die prematurely. Shouldn't you be glad that we came? Or do you want us to die early so you can empty out the hospital? Oh dear, that's quite mean. I never knew you were quite so mean Kyoko-san. My opinion of you has entirely changed now. I never thought you wanted me to die. It seems like a lot of people want me to die. Maybe I should." Ryuu rambled on as the receptionist got paler and paler.

"A-ah... H-Hanagaki-kun I see. W-what do you want? Of course I don't think such awful things," the woman, Kyoko, stuttered slightly at the boy. Ryuu frequented the hospital quite often with stipulations that he had some sort of sleeper poison in his body was about to kill him. So far nothing had been found to even remotely suggest he was ill.

"We'd just like to know if there is a map of the hospital's layout," Sakura cut off Ryuu from speaking as she inquired after the map. After only knowing Ryuu for a short time she already knew that if they let him talk they would never go anywhere.

Kyoko flung open one of her drawers and slammed down the sheet in front of the trio. "May I suggest the psychiatric ward?" She circled the ward in bright red and gave the pinkette a hopeful look. One could only stand Ryuu so long before they started to go mad.

"A-ah. Thank you, Kyoko-san." Sakura daintily picked up the paper before scuttling off towards one of the few vacant chairs to study the map. Ryuu and Shikamaru leaned over her as they tried to decipher the clue.

There were four major components of the hospital: the psychiatric ward, the surgery ward, the rehabilitation ward, and the poison ward. Another section of the map was quartered off for general patients with cuts and bruises. But since most of the injuries that happened were to shinobi, the hospital was mainly used for more deadly sicknesses.

"Well I suppose any of the sections could fit the first part. I mean, when anyone gets cured or thinks they are getting cured they'll be happy. But I do suppose it would all hurt so it would be kind of sad," Sakura spoke softly to her two companions. It was so strange being stuck with such silent people. She had gotten used to staying in the background and allowing her comrades to do all of the talking, but this time it was the other way around.

"I don't think I've ever seen someone happy in the surgery ward. Most of the surgeries are either amputations or transplants. The latter of which is rarer considering Konoha's slightly primitive technology." Ryuu had visited the hospital often enough to know plenty about how it worked. The surgical ward was strategically placed in the far corner of the bottom floor to keep the sound insulated. He had peeked in one time to see one of their kindly patients. The man had just had his eye removed.

Ryuu felt a shiver run down his spine at the thought. He never wanted to meet that man again. "We should try the rehabilitation ward I think."

"No, I think the surgical ward," Shikamaru put in his own two cents. "You said Konoha offered transplants, correct? Happiness in sadness could refer to needing someone else to die to receive their organ. Is it true that shinobi on their deathbed can sign their organs off to donation before they die? If so, then the full clue is satisfied."

The blue haired boy blinked for a moment before nodding slowly. That was logical, but he would never have thought of it that way. But oh dear, he'd have to go back to**that**place. He gripped his arm tightly and tried to reassure himself. His Mama and Papa were both surgeons at the hospital, but if anything that made him more afraid of the place than most.

When they came home they would talk about their cases at the dinner table and he would have to listen. Talking about the dead became an everyday occurrence. Normally one within the ward would die per day, if they were unlucky there could be as many as five. It scared Ryuu. Death came far too easily.

"Alright, so it's settled then? Your parents are surgeons here, right? Do you think you could get us allowed into the ward, Ryuu? We'll all promise not to disrupt anything," Sakura offered helpfully. Her green eyes shone dimly as she looked at her companions. She felt that she could contribute for once. It was a great feeling.

"Fine..." Ryuu mumbled. He fumbled around in his pockets for a few moments before pulling out a small bronze key. He twirled the key around his fingers before clenching it in his fist. "This way." The boy navigated quickly down the hallways. His mind had already mapped out a route which bypassed most of the traffic.

From behind him, Shikamaru was looking over the boy. Ryuu had surpassed most of his original expectations. He was surprisingly good at getting into places if only by freaking out the guards. The boy also appeared to have some minor medical knowledge and had informants from within the hospital. It was a strategically good position to be in if you needed favors from a doctor.

The pinkette on the other hand was still barely passable in his book. Shikamaru looked towards the girl trailing behind him with a frown. She had no innovative nature or connections. She appeared to just be a box of texts with no clue how to apply them. Remotely, she was like Kei, but she simply couldn't compare. Shikamaru could imagine cultivating a relationship with Ryuu, but not the Haruno.

Shikamaru wasn't clueless to the way things worked. To get anything done you would need people on the inside to help you push things through. Favors were worth gold. If you could get a companion in a seat of power, life was infinitely easier. He recalled the time his father had begun playing shogi with him.

"_Shikamaru, look at the board. Look at it closely. What do you see?"_

_The young boy scrunched his face as he stared at the small pieces. The way his father asked the question meant that it couldn't just be obvious. "I see tools to get to victory." Shikamaru looked up towards his elder with a calm look in his eyes._

_Shikaku laughed softly and rubbed his son's head merrily. "Good. Each of these pieces is just a tool that we use to progress to eventually reach our goal. When we promote a piece, it only happens after careful cultivation." Shikaku fingered the gold general in his hand thoughtfully. "Life is like a shogi game, Shikamaru. If your enemy lets his pieces fall to you, use them. If you promote your piece, it can serve you all the more. You are the king and at all costs you must not let yourself be captured."_

_Shikaku tossed the tile up in the air and caught it on its descent. "Because if the king is captured, everything goes to waste. You always have to plan ten steps in advance to make sure you never face such situations. Don't let yourself fall into their traps, Shikamaru."_

"_Yes, father."_

Ryuu would become another piece. Guilt welled inside of him. Shikamaru wasn't sure what he considered Kei and Naruto. A part of him felt bad whenever he considered them his pieces. They were too close to him for that. Maybe it was like how his father looked at him. Shikaku had once told him that though Shikamaru was in his life, he was not a piece on the board. Perhaps those two were players and not the played.

He shuffled through the doorway and into the surgical ward. The moment he passed through the door, the strong smell of antiseptic hit him. The boy swallowed hesitantly as he heard some moans come from the room next over. "Ignore them," Ryuu advised gloomily. The boy's head was hung slightly as he trudged ahead. He did not want to be here.

Sakura had a hand clamped firmly over her nose and mouth to keep out the smells. It was going to make her sick. She bolted after Ryuu with Shikamaru in pursuit. This was absolutely disgusting. "We have another one! You three, get out of the way!" A man shoved the genin towards the sides of the hallway as a bed was rolled through the corridor.

A kunoichi lay on the bed weakly protesting under the anesthesia she had been dosed with. The bloody stub that had once been her arm was cut off at the elbow. Blood poured easily out of the wound with only a bit of gauze to staunch the flow. The three watched in horror as the woman was wheeled past and towards the surgery room.

Sakura clutched at her own arm as if to reassure herself it was still there. Shikamaru paled as he stared at a small red droplet on the floor. This was what it was like to be a ninja. He bit his lip sharply to prevent himself from showing emotion. "Hanagaki-san, let's hurry." The black haired boy turned sharply and walked quickly passed his companion. Even the smell in the air disturbed him.

"Ok..." Ryuu said softly. A bit of sympathy welled in him for his two group mates. He grabbed Sakura's hand and pulled her along down the white tiles. No color was allowed into the hallways, it was all sterile. The area seemed lifeless as they hurried along the path. In a few minutes they stopped outside a steel door.

"I assume that if Hatake-sensei wanted to put the item in a place where we could find it, it would be in here. This is the throwaway section. They're only keeping the leftovers in here until they can be properly disposed of," Ryuu murmured. "It'll be cold, but don't worry too much about it. We'll try to be quick." His pale hand gripped the handle of the door before he slid the barrier across.

A cold gust of air greeted them as they stepped into the fridge. The small room was filled with numerous shelves. Upon the shelves rested bottles of various sizes containing the organs of now dead shinobi. "We should just look around, I guess..." Shikamaru bit out.

The trio separated to begin looking through the canisters until Sakura let out a surprised squeak. The boys rushed over towards her. She stood quivering beside a large container. The glass thinly concealed the vat which contained a murky, purplish liquid. If one looked close, they would see an eyeball bobbing up and down.

"Those aren't proper containment chemicals. That has to be..." Ryuu picked up the canister from its rack and examined it carefully. Being a hardened veteran of the hospital, he didn't even bat an eye as he unscrewed the top of the bottle and poked his head inside. He gave it a small sniff and shook his head. "It's some type of sake. The cheap stuff I think. It's probably safe to assume this is what we were sent to get."

Shikamaru looked at the bottle skeptically. He couldn't imagine any sensei sending his students to get a body part, but then again, Shikamaru hadn't expected to be standing inside a fridge right now. "Right... Then let's go," Shikamaru drawled out.

Ryuu took charge of the bottle as neither of his companions wished to even touch the item. On their way out they checked the clock upon the wall. It was 4pm now. They still had another two hours to burn.

-TSUME-

"Ino, dear! What are you doing back so early?" The elder female Yamanaka came out from behind her counter to give her daughter a warm hug. The jolly lady ignored her little baby's squirms and continued to hug the girl. "And I assume you three are some of her genin teammates? Ino did say that she was having a group examination today. Welcome to our shop!"

The Yamanaka family had always been considered a strange clan. Most clans remained secluded in their compounds and conducted ninja operations for their primary income. On the other hand, the Yamanaka were scattered all around Konoha and ran various stores. Very rarely did one of them enter permanent field service, so they took up shop. They ran an information circle all on their own with informants not only in the flower shop, but in various diners and weapons shops.

The only reason they signed papers to become an official clan was for legal protection of their jutsu. Most Yamanaka went into T&I later in their careers because of their mind ninjutsu.

"Glad to see ya, ma'am! I'm Kimura Teru." Teru gave a mock salute to the lady before looking curiously about the store. He couldn't really recall ever being in this place before, but it was surprisingly cold. Supposedly it was good for the flowers, but Teru felt like an ice cube.

"Nice to meet you too, dearie. Pleasure to see you as well, Inuzuka-san and..."

"Shimizu Kei," Kei supplied for the lady. The sound came out slightly muffled as the girl had a hand over her face in a weak attempt to keep out the pollen. Yes, Kei was allergic to pollen. The golden eyed girl had absolutely no desire to stay in this shop any longer than necessary.

She scanned the room warily. Where was she supposed to start with this? Assuming that she wouldn't be overwhelmed with the sheer amount of flowers clustered in the room, Kei would have about fifteen minutes before her eyes started watering uncontrollably. Then after then there would probably be another fifteen minutes before she started sneezing.

"Oi, oi. Yamanaka-san, did Inoichi-senseileave anything weird around here? Like a letter, a box, or anything?" Kiba asked lazily. They had never said it was out of bounds to ask others if they knew what happened to the item. It would save so much effort if they did.

"Dear, dear. I can't say. I was busy cutting flowers all this morning and my husband left before I was awake." Eiko smiled innocently at the genin, but one of them knew better. Yamanaka Eiko had carefully managed to completely evade the question. She forced the assumption that Inoichi had only planted the item this morning, but in reality he could have placed it anytime over the past week. She also had chosen the words, 'I can't say', over alternatives such as 'I don't believe I know'.

"Alright, Mama. Then can we just look around the store for a bit? We won't disturb the customers." Eiko nodded her assent before gliding back to her place behind the service counter. Ino looked at her mother and sighed softly. So they'd be getting no more information out of her. What a nuisance this was turning out to be.

"So what do we do now?" Teru asked. "What if he was just asking for us to bring him back a type of flower? Heck, we have no clue what we're doing!" The exasperated boy was finally beginning to show his true colors. The boy was perfectly willing to talk for hours upon end, but physical exertion seemed to be beyond him. Kei let a frown crease her face. The boy didn't know the effect that his words had upon others.

"Just look for anything out of place. Mama and I normally clean the shop every day after closing so there shouldn't be anything around except scissors and flowers." Ino waved her hand flippantly and marched towards the back of the store. "I'll start in the refrigerated section. I'll see you guys in a bit." Ino was obviously in her element.

The platinum blonde seemed to snap into focus when anything serious popped up. Unfortunately, it seemed those cases were rare enough. Kei slipped out her notebook just long enough to jot in a few more notes about the girl before tucking the book away once more. She had gotten used to profiling people years ago in her father's merchant shop.

You could tell what kind of preferences a person had by the way they dressed, spoke, and moved. Shinobi conventionally wore things that were economical, practical, and flexible. Considering personalities, Shinobi had two types. There were the ones who found great entertainment in boasting about their deeds and the silent ones. The silent ones tended to be much more aware of their surroundings than their louder counterparts.

If you could profile a person before they even asked you a question, you could respond in an optimal manner. People would like you more and would return to do business later on. It was just how business worked. Profit was all that mattered.

Kei dug around amongst the flowers for a few more minutes until she started slight discrepancies in her vision. "Shoot," she mumbled softly. Her eyes were already beginning to blur up. Kei rubbed her hand across her face before rushing through the rest of the roses. She felt along the stems for any rounded lumps when suddenly she heard a crack. Her face twist in confusion and she pulled out the rose from its basin.

The orange petals glowed lightly before her eyes. Kei cleared her eyes again before studying the rose. "Is that..." She felt one of the petals before suddenly it clicked. She needed to find Ino.

The maroon haired girl dived through the store towards the back refrigerator. She pulled open the door and stuck her head in. Ino stood in the corner rummaging through a pile of lilies. The sound of the door shocked the blonde from her spot and she headed over towards her teammate. "Did you find it?"

"I think I have, but I can't see properly right now. Do you see a distortion on the outer right petal?" Ino peered down at the flower and stroked the orange material for a moment before her eyes widened. Ino snapped her hands together and mumbled, "**Kai**."

The genjutsu around the flower fell away revealing an origami rose. "We got it! Isn't this great, Shimizu-chan!" Ino hugged said girl tightly before swiping away the flower and examining it carefully. "Come on then, let's grab those two idiots." She flew merrily out of the cold room leaving Kei in the dust.

Kei sighed softly before following her companion. At least they would finally be able to get out of this place. She covered her mouth for a moment before sneezing. It was just in time. The girl marched quickly out of the store and took a seat beside the wall outside. The air was so much easier to breathe in now.

Kiba was the next to make it outside. "Thank Kami-sama we're finally outside. That place was pollen hell." Kei for once had to agree with the boy. Kiba rubbed a hand through his hair before sitting himself down by Kei. "So, do you have the clue or does Yamanaka-san?"

His question was answered by the loud arrival of Ino. The girl burst through the doors with Teru in tow. "Ah! There you two are! Now let's read the clue!" She hauled Teru to the two sitting on the ground before shoving him down and taking a seat herself. Ino quickly unfolded the flower and smoothed out the sheet.

_If you're reading this I guess you found my clue, eh? Good job! I wonder how long it took you to find this. No matter, but I suggest you make your way back to the courtyard if you have this. It will do you no good if you have my clue unless you are in the courtyard. Hurry along now!_

Kei looked at the timepiece in the flower shop. One hour left and that was cutting it close in making it back to the courtyard. She sighed gloomily. Hopefully Shikamaru's team was faster than hers.

-TSUME-

"D-do you have another clue for us to look at, Nara-san?" Sakura asked wearily. She had been standing an awful lot today and she was fatiguing rapidly. It took all she had to force herself to be willing to take another clue.

"Mhmm." Shikamaru looked up from his one-sided conversation with the beetle on his hand. The beetle scurried away to make its transmission and Shikamaru pulled out the sheet Kei had given him. "Sarutobi-sensei's is the next one we work on: 'Is it an honor or is it a curse? That's all.' Let's sit down and think about it." Shikamaru motioned to a few of the now vacant hospital chairs before plopping down in one of them.

His acquaintances sat down beside him before taking turns holding the paper. Asuma's clue was it? Was it an honor or was it a curse... "The memorial stone," Ryuu mumbled softly. Shikamaru strained to hear the boy's voice, but when he did the light struck. That would probably work. Of course it could be countless other things as well, but they would have no time to waste. With any luck, it would be at the memorial stone.

"Let's try there. We should have just enough time to make it there and back to the courtyard." Shikamaru got up from the chair and motioned for his companions to follow him out of the hospital. He looked around the entrance before plotting out a path in his mind. Now would be a good time to use that energy he had been so carefully conserving all this time.

Shikamaru went into a sprint as he made his way through the corridors. All the civilians had been released from their daily work and now provided obstacles for him to cross. However, like all obstacles, there were ways around them. Shikamaru cut to the right and away from the commercial district. Most of them could have only left their jobs an hour or two ago and would stop for dinner before heading back home. Hopefully they would have enough time to make it to the stone and back before the civilians finished dining.

Out of the corner of his eye, Shikamaru spotted a dash of pink and blue and noted that his teammates were on his trail. That was good. He let out a burst of speed as he continued on his way. Minutes passed before he finally reached the memorial stone. The huge slab of stone stood proudly over the ground around it. Shikamaru bit his lip and slowed himself down to a walk.

There were times where running seemed wrong. Perhaps it was the ambiance of this place that made it seem so strange. It felt so cold to be here. Shikamaru stepped towards the stone and laid his pale hand on the cold rock. He shivered slightly at the feeling. Fingers traced the names etched into the granite for a moment longer before pulling away. The boy walked around the stone to see a bouquet of flowers laid on the ground with a small envelope beside it.

"Is it there?" Shikamaru turned to see the rosette and Ryuu come up beside him. The girl was panting heavily while the boy was struggling to maintain his composure. Ryuu had never liked being around cemeteries or the memorial stone no matter how much he talked of death.

"Mmhmm. We don't have time to read the letter now though." Shikamaru pocketed the envelope and began walking slowly away from the stone.

"Eh? Aren't you going to bring the flowers as well?" Sakura asked curiously.

"No. Those aren't meant for us. They're meant for them," Ryuu mumbled softly as he gestured towards the stone.

-TSUME-

The jounin sensei were bored. They had returned to the courtyard fifteen minutes ago only to find Shino still sitting there. After numerous attempts to figure out what the boy was doing, they still had gotten no response. A boy could only be so entertaining if he didn't even respond to prodding.

Kurenai ran a hand through her black hair and sighed. Hopefully the genin at least were able to keep time well enough. The woman didn't have much faith in her students at this point. Hinata was a nice enough child, but she was unknowingly driving the team apart. Shino obviously cared for the girl, but she bluntly ignored him most of the time in favor of Teru. Even some well placed hints didn't seem to help the girl understand what she was doing.

Kurenai had always wanted to be a good mother and when she got her genin, it seemed like it would be a good way to practice. She wasn't so sure she wanted to have kids anymore. They were pleasant enough until they reached the age of ten, but then they started acting self-centered. No wonder her colleagues looked like they aged more from stress when they had kids than when they were in ANBU.

"Kurenai-sensei!" Kurenai swirled around to see Hinata hopping over to her with a crutch under her arm. The jounin's red eyes widened as she rushed over to her genin. "Hinata-chan, what happened to you? Wait..." A dangerous looked flashed in her eyes, "Anko did this didn't she?" She had expressly told the woman not to do anything too rash with the genin! Well, this was Anko and rash meant something entirely different to that woman.

"Mmm." Hinata nodded warily. "But she helped bring me to the hospital afterwards so I'm fine. Choji-kun will be there for a bit longer though. I don't think he's woken up yet." At the mention of his genin, Asuma joined the duo.

"What happened to Akimichi-san?" He asked worriedly. He may not have liked his genin too much, but Choji was definitely the kindest of the lot. That, and Asuma wasn't particularly cold hearted. Anything that got him locked up in a hospital must have been pretty dreadful. A hospital was a shinobi's worst nightmare after all.

"He got bitten by one of Mitarashi-san's summons. He'll be fine, but the viper paralyzed him and he got knocked out. They told us he'd be up in a few hours." Hinata said.

"Us?" Kurenai blinked slowly. She hadn't noticed another genin come back with Hinata. She looked around to see Naruto talking with Kakashi.

"I'm telling you, we have no idea what happened to Uchiha-san. We split off from him at the Dangoya. Please, he got lucky. He didn't have to get chased by the snakes so stop crabbing! If he ever got in trouble he could just romance a lady and he'd do just fine," Naruto sighed, exasperated. Out of all the outcomes of splitting off from Sasuke, the one he didn't expect was for him to be glared down by Kakashi.

Kakashi was letting of a small wave of killer intent as he stared down at the boy. "Uzumaki-san, if Sasuke was in your group then you were supposed to look after him. What do you think you were doing by abandoning him? You were teammates and you have to act like such. Got it?" What on earth was Inoichi teaching the demon brat if**it**was willing to just abandon Sasuke? It would have to be pounded into the boy's head that he was worth just a fraction of what Sasuke was.

Kakashi didn't particularly believe the crap the council was feeding him about Sasuke's breeding, but any human was worth more than the demon. He knew his logic was messed up. That Naruto was just the container and not the actual demon, but he just wasn't able to change how he felt. He still remembered the day when the Kyuubi attacked. The chilling fear that he felt as he was forced to the sidelines to watch, just watch, as the Kyuubi crushed everything that was his home. If that wasn't enough, the Kyuubi had to take one last thing from him, Namikaze Minato.

And that boy, he looked so much like his former sensei. Sarutobi Hiruzen had told him that Minato had sealed a portion of himself into the boy to keep the Kyuubi at bay. That portion had also changed the child's physical appearance so he would grow up looking up like Minato. It was just cruel to be forced to watch that **thing** turn into his sensei whenever he stood a certain way. Kakashi hated it.

"Funny thing, Hatake-sensei." Naruto's voice was laced with sarcasm. Yet again, another person was looking at him as if he was a worm. It was annoying after a while. If he hated them and they hated him, why couldn't they split away? If only, if only. "Uchiha-san was actually our leader for a while. That is, before he told us to get out of his way because we were just**nuisances**. I suppose you are of the same opinion then? That's really a pity."

Kakashi glared at the boy icily. The blonde had absolutely no respect and it disgusted him. "You had better hope Sasuke is alright, Uzumaki-san." Kakashi turned away from Naruto and stalked off to another one of the incoming genin groups.

"You'll have to forgive him, Naruto-kun," Inoichi said softly, placing his hand on his protégé's shoulder. "Some old dogs can't learn new tricks, and other dogs just refuse to."

Naruto bobbed his head up and down slightly before entering a staring contest with the ground. He could deny it all he liked, but rejection would still hurt.

-TSUME-

Team Tsume sat in the barbeque shop. The sizzling of the pork was music to their ears after a long day of traipsing around Konoha. "So tell me, what did you learn about your comrades?" Inoichi poked one of the slices of meat as it cooked. Hopefully they remembered their sub-mission; it was the only reason Inoichi had put them in that test anyways.

"Haruno-san is shy and doubts herself constantly. She can retain information when it is given to her, but puzzling things out on her own takes her too much time. She also is easily disgusted by things such as wounds and blood. Too much time is spent worrying about what others think about her and that is what is making her ineffective at the moment. A bit of flattery and she puffs up happily," Shikamaru drawled out lazily. The end part spoke volumes: she's easy to manipulate if you just say the right words.

"Hanagaki-san is the son of two surgeons. He has no problems dealing with organs or other such things. He is good at persuading people merely because they feel awkward talking to him for too long. He isn't as athletic as most shinobi though. He'd be better off joining the medic corps. Hanagaki-san isn't much of a leader, though. He'd rather stay in the background." Shikamaru snatched a well-cooked piece of pork off the grill and chewed on it thoughtfully.

"Good job, Shikamaru-kun," Inoichi said with a smile. It seemed that Shikamaru had gotten the sub-context of their mission: figure out how each person could be manipulated. Genin were commonly thought of as the weakest link in a shinobi village. If the genin could be patched up then it would be twice as hard for anyone to gather intel from them.

"Err... Hinata-chan is a nice person, but is really easy to get close to. She clings to anyone who gives her attention, like Haruno-chan. She's a Hyuuga and has unlocked her Byakugan and is fairly good at running away." Naruto scrunched up his face in thought. Was there much else to say about her? He didn't think so and continued on, "Uchiha-san has a superiority complex and it was really easy to turn people against him. No one seems to like him very much. He was really unused to people challenging his authority and kind of spazzed when we took the beetle from him."

"Choji-kun is probably the smartest out of the three of them. He wasn't willing to place himself as clearly being on my side or risk the consequences if the takeover failed. He's the neutral ground that seems to get stomped on all the time. Plus," Naruto shrugged, "He's just a nice guy."

"Hmm. Ok Naruto-kun." Inoichi was silently stuffing away all the information his students gave him into the back of his mind. He'd been told to report to the Hokage on the real personality types of the genin. The Hokage was fairly sure that most of the files that he had on his shinobi were incorrect. After all, the data portrayed them as perfect little soldiers with no faults, especially the Uchiha. This information would be enlightening.

"The Inuzuka is loud and had very little use. Kimura-san is all talk, but refuses to work when it gets right down to it. He'd rather talk to someone about working than work. Ino-san is tolerable. She broke the genjutsu you put on the flower, Inoichi-sensei." Kei snapped her chopsticks at her sensei for emphasis before snatching away a piece of meat. It was obvious they would get no more from the quiet girl.

"Good job you three." Inoichi smiled. They really were good kids. "I wasn't idle while you three were out and about you know." His comment was meant by blatant skepticism on the part of his students. "A-ah, did you really not believe in me? What I told you earlier was that I'd be getting you all tutors for your affinities. What I say, I will do. I'll introduce them to you tomorrow."

OMAKE: Shino's boredom

"Mama? What's that person doing over there? He's really weird. I think I saw him talking to himself." A little boy tugged on his mother's dress and pointed towards the man in the beige overcoat. The woman looked up towards the aforementioned boy and laughed slightly.

"He's an Aburame, dearie. You don't have to worry about them. Come along now, Mum has work to do."

Shino twitched an eyebrow. When he was volunteered for this position he hadn't quite figured it to be so boring, or so attention gathering. That was the fifteenth person that had stopped to talk about him since the other genin left, two hours ago. Was he really that interesting? Maybe it was a bit strange for everyone to see someone in a heavy overcoat when it was so warm out. Especially when he hadn't moved from that spot for two hours...

Shino sighed gloomily. Four hours left. Hopefully they would come back soon. "Oi? What's that kid in the overcoat doing over there? He's creepy!" Make it sixteen people.

**Hoorah! I actually wrote enough to finish an update! Good thing to since I leave tomorrow. /phew  
I won't be able to update for a bit, but I'll be writing in the car as long as I have enough charge in my laptop.**

**I know a lot of you want the pace of the story to hurry up a bit and I'll try and make things exciting soon. The next chapter with the affinity sensei will be the last chapter of their pre-mission training. You can hold me to it. /nods**

**Thanks for reading, reviewing, favoriteing, alerting, etc. xD. And special thanks to Pokepikachu1 for betaing for me! Ja ne~**


	9. Perseverance

"There is no victory at bargain basement prices."

**- General Dwight D. Eisenhower**

Chapter 8: Perseverance

It was kind of strange just sitting there. When you sat and all was quiet, you couldn't help but think. Sometimes thinking wasn't a good thing. Thinking could be dangerous. Sometimes it was just too dangerous. Naruto stared at the ceiling of his apartment dismally. The high after the successful test was over. Now everything was really beginning to hit home.

"_You see this?" Kakashi held up the canister for all the genin to see. The eye floated within the murky liquid. A flash of a cruel smile crossed his face before it disappeared once more. He unscrewed the lid of the container and pulled out the small sphere. The genin inched away from the man as he stroked the eye before him._

"_All of you, reacting like this. It's pathetic don't you think?" Kakashi tossed the eye up into the air before catching it again. He repeated the action over and over in front of their disgusted faces. "You are shinobi. Or at least you are supposed to be. I'm not sure how many of you really are." He fingered the ball for a second more before throwing it at the genin. The children scattered away from the eye as it flew past them and into a wall._

"_Shinobi have to be used to death, used to pain. As shinobi, you will either be the one dealing the damage, or the one receiving it." Naruto stared at the slop which had previously been an eye as it dripped down the side of the wall. "If all it took to take out our genin was to throw body parts at them, Konoha would be ruined. Keep it in mind."_

Naruto bit his lip. He had been one of the genin that had cowered away from the eye. It was cowardly to do that, wasn't it? All he really could say about himself was that he was a genin with delusions of grandeur. How had he imagined defeating his foes anyways? He thought of it as some sort of bloodless slaughter that just ended with everyone fainting. It was pathetic.

How would he be able to protect Shikamaru and Kei like this? All the tales about saving civilians, becoming a hero to save the innocent, they were all rubbish. The only way to really save someone from evil was to get your hands dirty.

"_Open it and read it." Asuma stared at Shikamaru as the boy unfolded the letter that he had found at the memorial stone._

"_The memorial stone. It's a shinobi's dream that when he dies his name will be inscribed on that rock. They say that it is an honor to be there, but it's just a way to comfort the families who lost their loved ones. Take a good look at the names, every single one of them. Each of them probably had families, friends, just like you and me. Remember that for every enemy you kill, you break the heart of someone else."_

"_This is a shinobi's duty: To defeat your enemies and make sure that no one can plot against you later. But do not let this make you cold hearted. If at all possible, do not kill. Instead make them your one that dies is never the only one you kill."_

Was that true? Naruto had never thought of it much before. Everything and everyone in his world was all relative to himself. The clothing owner that always kicked him out of the store, he probably had a wife and kids to take care of. What if Naruto being in the store meant bad business? Was getting rid of the jinchuuriki the wisest business solution? Naruto couldn't hate the man for that. He was just doing what was best for his kids.

Naruto rolled over to the side of his bed. How much of the hatred he received was really hate? Was there even a portion of it that was a front to protect others? People get along with one another if they have a common interest, whether it is ninjas, flowers, art, or enemies. Naruto wondered if he was the common enemy that helped people come together when they otherwise would never talk to one another.

The blonde sighed dismally. Walking in another's shoes was always something he had put off. It required that he understand how they felt. He didn't want to understand. He just wanted to hate them for it. Naruto clenched his teeth. Why couldn't he just hate them for everything? Understanding people made it so much more difficult!

"Uzumaki-san? You're going to be late unless you hurry up." Naruto looked towards the door at the sound of Kei's voice.

"One minute!" Thinking about this more would have to wait until later. Naruto rolled down to the floor and stood up. The boy stretched for a moment before answering the door. The golden eyed girl was already walking away from the apartment. She turned back for a moment and waved at him to hurry up before continuing her walk down the street.

Recently Shikamaru and Kei had decided to strike a deal. If they had the chance, they'd play shogi with one another once every week. The loser would have to make sure Naruto made it to training on time every day. However, if one person won more than three times in a row, they'd have to go for a week before switching back. The two of them had managed to squeeze in a game after dinner last night and much to her chagrin, Kei had lost.

She swayed back and forth as she slowly made her way down the dirt road. The place Naruto lived in really was a dump. There wasn't any other way to describe the decrepit neighborhood in which he lived. The girl eyed the fragmented clay roofing that had crashed upon the ground. Yes, this place certainly needed drastic remodeling.

She hugged her notebook tightly to her chest as she walked. Yesterday was kind of scary. It wasn't that she had run away from the eyeball, but it was more that she was frozen in fear. Ino had said how amazed she was that Kei hadn't run away. Kei lowered her head. Fear was nothing to be proud of! She had always told herself that she would never panic no matter what the situation, but she just couldn't keep to that rule.

Her nails dug into the leather. It was disappointing how weak she acted when something actually important came up. "Kei-chan? Are you ok?" The girl looked towards Naruto with a glum look on her face before nodding her head. She would be fine soon. There was no reason to bother others with her selfish fears.

Naruto somehow doubted that she was telling the truth, but smiled anyway. If she wanted to keep it to herself then he had no excuse to butt into her secrets. Just like the way she didn't force herself into his. It worked out nicely that way.

"Who do you think you have as a teacher, Kei-chan? You're water affinity, right? I don't think there are very many of those around Konoha." Naruto quickly swapped topics on a lighter note.

"No, there aren't many. Kiri killed most of the water affinities from the other countries. It's safer if only one country has a monopoly on a certain affinity. Though I am not quite sure how the water gene entered my genetic code." Kei paused for a moment before shaking her head. She couldn't recall that she had any Mizu lineage in her. "The only jounin that have water affinity have it as their secondary or tertiary affinity so no one really specializes in it. They probably practice it well enough, though. I think I know who my tutor is actually..."

Kei softened her voice again. She thought she knew, but she also wished that she was wrong. **That **person wasn't someone she wanted to face so soon.

"Hmm? Really? So do you think you can guess my tutor, Kei-chan?" Naruto bounced before the girl happily.

"Wind affinities are even rarer than water in Konoha. Only Sarutobi Asuma and Hayama Shirakumo have the affinity if I recall correctly. Sarutobi-sensei has his own genin team this year so I doubt Inoichi-sensei would be quite as inclined to ask him for favors. However, I don't know too much about Hayama-san." Kei said.

"So cool! I'm sure he's cooler than teme's jounin and that's good enough for me!" The blonde stopped for a moment before he jumped up in the air and waved maniacally. "Oi oi! We're coming!" He landed and turned to Kei with a lopsided grin. "Let's hurry up! One hundred meter sprint, go!" The boy bolted off towards his waiting sensei leaving Kei in a somewhat confused haze.

The girl jolted out of her daze and let out an irritated, "Hey!" before dashing off after her companion.

-TSUME-

Was Inoichi joking? He just had to be joking. Team Tsume sat in the booth gloomily. They stared across at their tutors with dead looks in their eyes. Inoichi laughed weakly at his students before coughing to try and grab their attention. "So, I assume you all remember Hatake-san." Inoichi gestured towards the white haired jounin beside him.

Kakashi twirled his straw in his drink slowly. He had told his students to meet him about an hour ago and was actually going to be on time, but as per usual, someone had to grab him. Apparently Inoichi decided it was the perfect time for Kakashi to get another temporary student. Kakashi faintly recalled agreeing to mentoring one of the kids, but it was awfully soon. The man sighed. Hopefully he wouldn't get stuck with the demon; it would be just his luck.

"Hatake-san will be mentoring Kei-chan in her water affinity. He's busy with his own genin, but while they are on missions he can give you pointers. Alright, Kei-chan?" Inoichi smiled kindly towards the girl while she bobbed her head in response.

She was not a happy camper. The events yesterday kept replaying in her head as she gazed warily at her new sensei. The whole situation just seemed so punitive. Not to mention that he seemed to be glaring at Naruto every few minutes. Was Kakashi that protective of Sasuke? It seemed unlikely, but maybe somewhere deep inside of him, Kakashi was a kiss up.

"Hayama-san will be mentoring Naruto-kun." Inoichi then waved towards the scarred man beside him. Shirakumo had a long scar racing down his dark cheek that only made him look more fearsome as he looked at all of the genin with distaste. He didn't hate children by any means, but that didn't mean that he liked them. The last thing on his list of things to do was to be roped into mentoring a green genin. In all honesty, genin normally didn't begin affinity training until three to six months into their training. Inoichi apparently didn't care for any preset conventions.

Shirakumo sighed and looked over towards the inquisitive blonde. The boy was peering over the table at his new sensei. Shirakumo grunted irritably. It seemed like he had gotten the loud one, how unlucky. If memory recalled, the boy was Uzumaki Naruto. He was the demon container wasn't he? The man stroked his chin in thought. So he'd be teaching one of the most potentially dangerous ninja in all of Konoha, eh?

A smirk lit his face. It certainly was an honor now wasn't it? "Nice to finally meet you, Uzumaki-san. Looks like we'll be working together, now won't we? Don't waste my time now." His rugged voice seemed to light a spark within the boy. The orange-clad genin bounced in his seat and spluttered out a garbled thank you.

To say that Naruto was shocked at the man's acceptance was an understatement. He was sure that the man would turn him away because of who he was, but it almost seemed that he was being treated normally! Naruto glowed happily in his spot as Inoichi moved along.

"Shikamaru-kun will stay with me for now. I've also talked to your dad, Shikamaru-kun. He will be tutoring you in some of the Nara techniques, but I will also help you with a secondary hereditary ability. I assume you have knowledge of the affinity type of which both of our clan's jutsu come from?" After getting the affirmation from the genin Inoichi continued, "Some jutsu don't have an elemental affinity, such as the **Kagemane no Jutsu**. The affinity these jutsu carry is called the Yin and Yang affinity. Genetic mutations or hereditary affinities are conventionally the only way for people to use these jutsu."

"Since you are from the Nara clan you are born with an ability to use these jutsu. All Yin and Yang jutsu can be used by others who also have the affinity so I will have you ease into the affinity. Alright, Shikamaru-kun?" Inoichi tilted his head to the side and smiled warmly at his genin. The three of them were absorbing all of the information he gave them like sponges. It made him incredibly proud to have them as his students. Thank goodness the Hokage had allowed him to choose his team.

"A-ah." Shikamaru nodded quickly and betrayed his excitement. He had never really been informed as to the details of his clan jutsu and had only been taught the basics. Now he would finally be able to delve into his father's library and read the tomes stored there.

"Good, good. I suppose your sensei will all want to get acquainted with you now. In that way we do have a head start, don't we Shikamaru-kun?" Inoichi winked at the boy before standing up from his spot. He slipped outside of the booth and turned to the rest of the table. "I hope I will see you all soon! We will be splitting off from one another for the next two weeks before we meet back to track improvement. Don't become strangers from one another though. Come on, Shikamaru-kun. Goodbye all of you."

-TSUME-

The golden general clicked as it was set down upon the board. "Your turn." Shikamaru turned away from his father and back to the scrolls piled beside his seat. The sun shone over the ink and it reflected an eerie color in the boy's eyes. The Yin and Yang affinity was so very different. His fingers traced over the words as his eyes scanned across the scroll.

"Father." Shikaku looked up from the shogi board. "Yin and Yang doesn't come from the chakra system does it?"

Shikaku was silent for a moment before nodding the affirmative. "Shikamaru, there are only five basic affinities. A majority of the other affinities such as ice and wood are mixes of those five. Yin and Yang is not a mix, but nor is it one of the basic types. One of the reasons that Yin and Yang is so not usable by others is because it is a genetic mutation. Any shinobi can master two or even all of the elemental affinities if they train hard enough. However, only those with the mutation can learn the Yin and Yang affinity jutsu."

"Thin streams of the affinity are coiled around our chakra systems. It is one of the reasons why you rarely see any of the Akimichi, Yamanaka, or Nara clans out on battle duty unless absolutely necessary. All injuries to our chakra systems also cut through the streams that supply the Yin and Yang energy. For ease of reference, I shall call it Ki."

"This Ki has to be contained within the stream because it is still dangerous to us if it escapes through the rest of our bodies. That is why the clan heirs generally go into the interrogation department or the strategic advisory. Only the doctors of our clans know how to repair the chakra streams. Most normal medic nin have no knowledge of the abnormality."

Shikaku picked up a small piece with the words for 'lance' graphed into it before placing it back down on the board. "Checkmate, Shikamaru. You still aren't observing all the options."

Shikamaru cursed under his breath as he looked at the board. How absolutely hilarious. He had lost because he was cornered in by his own general. Shikamaru looked up at his father with a cold look in his eyes. "You did that on purpose didn't you?"

"Maybe, maybe not." Shikaku shrugged flippantly before getting up from his seat upon the ground. "Always remember: on the battlefield there is no such thing as black at white. Your allies may become the cause of your death whether they know it or not. Now come. We have other things to do."

-TSUME-

"Did you not hear what I said, Shimizu-san?" Kakashi smiled creepily at his student. The man was hunched over the water's edge and was peering at the girl that was partially submersed.

Kei spluttered as she tried to regain her breath before glaring coldly at her sensei. "I did, Hatake-sensei. But I **still **don't know what I'm supposed to do. You haven't given me any instructions!" She cut out exasperated.

"Not all things can be taught through a book, Shimizu-san. Water is something that cannot be tamed by reading about chemical compounds. Think about that carefully as you're under there." He grabbed her by the head and pushed her back down under the water before taking out his book with his other hand.

Shimizu squirmed as water filled her mouth again. Dratted man didn't even allow her to catch her breath. _I need to breath, dangit!_ She cursed silently. Bubbles of air escaped her mouth as the last remnants of her precious oxygen left her. Her golden eyes faintly saw the bubbles as they rose up to the top of the water.

A thought struck her, was she supposed to create a pocket of air? She was pulled back up to the surface a moment later and immediately returned to gasping for breath. Kei venomously spat out the water in her mouth before leaning back into the water. If she didn't trust him with anything else, she trusted him enough to keep a strong enough hold on her so she wouldn't fall. Even he wouldn't want to be known for killing a genin like that.

-TSUME-

"You've got to be joking, ne Shirakumo-sensei?" Naruto held the leaf up and inspected it carefully. "I can't see any purpose of doing this at all! In battle I would never start cutting leaves! I'd just rip the darn thing if it came to it."

Shirakumo grunted in annoyance. The demon was far too energetic and far too stupid for his tastes. "Listen to me, boy. If I say to cut a leaf with chakra, you cut a leaf with chakra. If I tell you to cut a thousand of them with chakra, you're going to do it. Got it, boy?"

"EH? You can't be serious, Shirakumo-sensei! A thousand?" Naruto screeched. He stared blankly at his leaf before looking back up to his sensei. "Really?" The man looked back at him dully before saying, "Two thousand."

"Crap."

-TSUME-

"I would like to say it has been a while, but really it hasn't." Shikamaru smirked as he leaned against the tree. The clouds floated across the blue sky and slowly took the forms of both animals and people. Shikamaru dragged his attention away from the fluffy white and looked back towards his friends.

"You have no idea what crap I had to put up with." Kei growled low. The girl looked bedraggled as she rubbed her forehead in irritation. Hair was going every which way and was only kept vaguely in control by the hair tie behind her head. Her eyes had gotten noticeably puffier from lack of sleep and the whites of her eyes were lightly bloodshot.

"Ehh? He was that bad, Kei-chan? Shirakumo-sensei was totally the best! He said that I could visit him anytime I wanted as long as he was off duty. I should bring him out to eat with us sometime!" Naruto exclaimed merrily. The boy hopped up and down in excitement. He was glad to finally see his companions again. Not that Shirakumo was boring or anything, but he just couldn't quite compare to Kei and Shikamaru.

"He was that bad." Kei huffed. She could just remember it now. While Kakashi's genin were off plucking weeds, he was busy holding her underwater and telling her to relax and try and create an air bubble around her mouth. For a newbie, it just didn't work like that. That wasn't teaching; that was attempted murder. She rubbed her neck uneasily as she looked around warily. She almost felt that he was watching her. Kakashi seemed to always be around even she didn't see the fellow.

Shikamaru raised a brow in amusement before shaking his head. He supposed that he probably got the better end of the deal. Inoichi was a pleasant fellow to be around and his father was more of the same. When he got to play shogi for his training, there wasn't much to complain about at that point. Except maybe that they had been missing a few meals due to "extended sessions".

"So, what have you two learned? I trust that you haven't been lounging about these past two weeks." Shikamaru inquired amiably.

"Shirakumo-sensei was the best! So, so, at first it was really boring because he had me do something called splitting leaves. You have no idea how boring that was. Heck, I starting having a conversation with the leaves! Did you know that the female ones turn orange and red earlier than the male ones? Anyways, I finally got to split the leaf and it was so awesome! It slashed right through the leaf like it was paper! I guess it was a bit flimsier than paper, but still! It was so cool."

"He had me off splitting leaves for the first two days then it started getting a lot cooler. He demonstrated about the sorts of things you could do with wind affinity chakra. He has this jutsu where he can create a blade made out of wind! He said he'll teach it to me if I'm good! I wanna learn it so bad!" Naruto trailed off with a dreamy look on his face. It appeared he had recently obtained another goal to work towards.

"I suppose that if ever I am being held underwater I will survive. Heh." Kei chuckled humorlessly before returning to glaring at an innocent rock. "I'm also probably immune to getting hypothermia now." Kei cut off there and a sour look crept upon her face. She did not want to elaborate.

"A-ah. I see you two have had a lot of fun." Shikamaru chuckled lightheartedly in an attempt to improve the ambiance before telling his own little tale. "Inoichi-sensei had me studying the organic compounds of the nearby shrubs and grass so I could get a better understanding of what I am manipulating. We only really began affinity training yesterday because I finished studying the book he gave me. Father has pretty much given me free reign in the lower library to figure out whatever I like. Once and awhile he's sat down to play shogi with me, but I suppose he's busy with the clan meetings."

Shikamaru flexed a small strand of grass between his fingers. If he recalled correctly, this was the fourth variation of grass he had studied. How troublesome.

"Having fun without me? I'm hurt, you three." Inoichi gave a merry grin as he walked up to the trio. He leaned against the tree before saying, "I had to talk with your sensei. I hope I didn't leave you waiting too long, though." His blonde hair swayed behind him as he bobbed his head up and down.

"I also had time to talk with the Hokage a bit. We think you three are ready for a bit more than Tora chasing." The genin all perked up slightly at that. No more Tora would always brighten up anyone's day.

Inoichi stuffed a hand into his pocket and pulled out a small scroll. He tossed the paper over to Shikamaru who caught it and quickly broke the seal. He rolled it open for his comrades to see before skimming over the paper himself.

_Assignment Code: Quarry #19, Mission 14, Rank C  
Placement: The coal quarry in the lower eastern district of the fire country.  
Mission Summary: Genin requested to help guard the shipment to the market town to the west. Distance is nine hours if shunshin, if walking then four to six days depending on what is being guarded._

_Formal Request Letter: Our village would like to request the assistance of Konoha to help guard the shipment. The shipment is mighty important to our town and we don't want to take any risks. We need a group by the end of the third week of this month. Payment will be on completion of the mission. Thank you kindly._

"A-ah. This is our first rank C isn't it?" Shikamaru examined the letter carefully and committed every word to memory. He couldn't be too careful, although somehow he doubted the mission would be too eventful. His eyes glanced over towards Kei. She was already in a fairly bad mood and finding out that she would be placed on a guarding mission was bound to make her mood even worse.

Her eyes burned through the paper before a groan erupted from her mouth. It was a guarding mission. She was going to be screwed. She hadn't spent too much time with offensive jutsu over the past two weeks and only had two that she could effectively use. Being a one-trick pony would make her a pushover and that was not something she particularly desired to be.

"That's right, Shikamaru-kun! We'll be departing in two hours so you had better pack up! We'll be gone for about two weeks to even longer if there are any unexpected delays. Run along now, I'll meet you by the gates." The trio huddled together after their sensei left to discuss their plans.

"Shikamaru-kun, have you gotten any better at extending the width of the**Kagemane no Jutsu**?" Naruto was bubbling with excitement. Finally no more of those blasted D ranks! He was going to have a breakdown if they got assigned to Tora one more time. Plus he would be able to prove to Shirakumo-sensei that he was able to learn the jutsu! It was going to be awesome.

"Mmhm. A little bit. I can probably capture four people now as the width of the jutsu can go to about four feet in all directions, albeit I can't sustain it endlessly." Shikamaru guiltily looked in Kei's direction. Some part of him still felt bad about forcing her to fight, but there was no way that he'd take the position. "Do you have any jutsu to use for battle if it comes to that, Shimizu-chan?'" Shikamaru inquired softly.

Kei looked at the boy and drawled sarcastically, "Sure. Loads and loads of jutsu." She opened her notebook and began skimming through her notes. She wrote down most of the jutsu that she would have an affinity to within the booklet, but were there any she could learn on such short notice?

The boys shared a glance with one another before getting up from the ground. When Kei got into her notebook, there wouldn't be any getting her out of it for awhile yet. "Just remember to pack, eh?" Naruto merrily patted her on the head before ambling off towards his apartment. He fumbled for his key before he unlocked the door and marched in. The boy searched the room for various shinobi gear, when he found a spare kunai or shuriken he would toss them onto his bed before continuing the search.

He pulled out a large leather satchel and tugged on the edges. It looked like it would still be able to carry a fair amount. He dropped onto his bed and began the tedious process of packing all of his belongings. If he was going to be gone for over a week then he would have to be super prepared. Almost anything could happen if given enough time. Naruto didn't want to test that hypothesis.

He stuffed a final roll of kunai into his pack before he sealed it off. With a contented sigh he leaned back onto his bed and looked casually over at his nightstand. His eyes widened as the clock blinked the time: it was 12:00. "Shoot!" Naruto bolted up from his spot and hastily grabbed his bag before bolting out the door. He was late, again!

He skirted around the lunchtime traffic as he climbed over yet another fence. He didn't live particularly close to the gates so he'd have to move double time. Hopping down the crates, Naruto took off down the lonely dirt road. A few minutes later, the iron gates came into view. Beneath their looming shadows were three figures. "I'm sorry!" were the first words out of his mouth as he came to a stop by his companions.

Despite his previous sprint, he gave an energetic bow before looking up towards his friends. Inoichi laughed at the boy before waving off the boy's apology. "It's alright, Naruto-kun. We aren't put off too badly. Kei-chan only got here a few minutes ago, herself. But let's run along now. If we show up late, it will give Konoha a bad name."

**This is not only short, but lame and late. I apologize for that. Really really sorry. ;3; Life just decided to smack me in the face and boy does life have a good right hook. Now for the long string of excuses to why I wasn't here. /clears thoat**

**Nevermind. I just warned you so it defeats the purpose... Ugh. Anyways, I kind of wanted to rush through this chapter since it was metso-filler. I needed to introduce certain elements to the story for the next few chapters, but I wasn't quite sure how. So this is all you get. SUFFER THROUGH IT. About the clues, I know a lot of you wondered: Why didn't you explain them? D: So there's the explanation. I never really did explain Kurenai's clue though. However, it was pretty much just training with Anko. Not too much to say. Asuma and Kakashi had the meat of the ordeal though. I know my adults are dark, but I thought it was pretty realistic considering most of them got pretty lame team dynamics. Naruto canon people are too sunshine and roses for my tastes. No one should just go: Wow! I just watched my mom and dad get squashed by the Kyuubi! Happy day! **

**Anyways, thanks so much for reading, favoriting, alerting, and review! Love y'all! :P****And thanks again to pokepikachu1 for betaing for me~ :D**


	10. Same Man

"No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man."  
**-Heraclitus**

Chapter 9: Same Man

"Are we there yet?" Naruto grumbled as he trod along the road. They had left two days ago, and very little had happened. Inoichi had begun to teach them how to shunshin, but his two teammates were still struggling with the jutsu. Well, it wasn't to say that he wasn't struggling as well, but it was in a different way. Naruto tended to release explosive amounts of chakra to help shoot him across long distances. He had been trying, but still hadn't figured out how to limit the chakra that he released.

Shikamaru and Kei had the opposite problem. They could release their chakra in controlled bursts, but ran out much quicker than their blonde haired companion. Naruto truly had been blessed with an incredible chakra system, if only he could use it properly.

"No we aren't, Naruto-kun. We won't be there for another day or two so if you will stop asking it would be incredibly appreciated." Inoichi twitched in annoyance. It was alright to ask how long it would take for them to arrive. However, after hearing the question fifteen times in a single day, one began to grow short tempered.

"We could be going so much faster though! How about you carry Shikamaru-kun and I take Kei-chan and we shunshin the rest of the way there?" That suggestion earned him a glare from his two companions. The idea was economical, but that didn't mean it had to be enthusiastically received.

"I am not going to be carried about. It's too troublesome." Shikamaru shot back. Though he was admittedly lazy, it was a couple notches below his dignity to be carried around like a sack of potatoes. "Anyways, we're already early and walking gives us more time to practice. There's no reason for us to arrive early."

"Ehh?" Naruto whined. Two more days of doing absolutely nothing but walking would kill him!

Just as he was praying for the boredom to end, something came to disturb the quiet. "What's this now? Yamanaka Inoichi teaching children? I never would have guessed it in a million years." The voice echoed eerily out of the forest. Naruto reached a wary hand down to his kunai pocket and unlocked the flap. His eyes shot over to his sensei to see if he knew what was going on.

Inoichi was tensed up with a senbon twirling around his fingers. "Rokusho-san. It has been awhile, hasn't it?" The green haired man stepped out from the trees with wry grin on his face.

"In the flesh. You look just as old as ever. If not older actually. You've had kids now haven't you? I trust your youngin' isn't among this lot though." The ninja smiled pleasantly as he ambled up to the group. "So young. Tsk, tsk. I can't believe we looked like this ever so long ago. They're as green as grass." Aoi flicked Naruto in the head before turning to Inoichi.

"What are you doing here, Rokusho-san? We're on the way to a mission, please do not waste our time." Inoichi sent a chilling glare towards the nin. "Do not think for a moment that because you have the protection of Ame that makes us friends. Remember that you are an Ame ninja and you no longer have an excuse to be on our territory."

"You wound me! I was actually just coming on over to return something of Konoha's." Aoi sighed emphatically before explaining, "You probably know the whole junk about the sword. You won't detain me will you? It would be such a nuisance."

Inoichi clenched the senbon in his fist before shaking his head. "Just make sure you hurry to the village and hurry out. Come on you three." Inoichi put a hand his genin before shuffling them foreward and away from the Ame-nin.

After they got out of earshot, Kei asked, "Who was Rokusho-san?" It was a question all three of them had wondered since Inoichi had gotten that grave look on his face. It was unnerving to see their sensei like that. Inoichi was always amiable and rarely ever got mad at anyone.

"He was a missing-nin of Konoha." At Naruto's indignant squawk Inoichi added, "We can't prosecute him anymore, Naruto-kun. He's under Amegakure's protection. If we attacked him then we would be attacking Amegakure. No matter how much I think he should be jailed, he won't be. At least for now." Inoichi rubbed his forehead irritatedly before continuing on, "Let's just hope we won't see anymore of him."

-TSUME-

The rest of the trip was uneventful. Naruto complained and Inoichi asked him to quiet down. In two days time they arrived on the outskirts of the small coal town. It was then that Shikamaru realized how different things were.

Shikamaru had always grown up inside of the Nara compound and when he entered Naruto's apartment, he thought it was bad. However, seeing these 'houses' brought things into a different perspective. They were ramshackle things made of wood that looked thoroughly doused with water. The roofs sagged down as if they had some heavy burden upon them. Small trails of smoke exited the chimneys and coiled up into the air before fading away

It was so different from Konohagakure. While Konohagakure had slums, no one lived in huts. Instead they were crammed into small apartments. Shikamaru wasn't quite sure if these houses were better or worse.

"We're finally here! Come on, let's go!" Naruto chirped happily before running towards the village. Those that he left in the dust all shared an exasperated glance before walking after the blonde.

"Oi, boya! Don't run around like that! People are actually doing things of worth about here." A thundering voice startled Naruto out of his dash. He skidded to a stop and looked around for the source until his eyes landed on a bulky man.

The man was coated in a thick layer of black coal. The only place that wasn't covered was a thin line around his eyes where his goggles had been a few moments ago. "I trust you guys are the genin team, hm? Ahh, you're wee tikes aren't you? Ah well. I guess we get what we pay for." The man's sigh caused a cloud of coal to blow off him. Naruto waved away the dust coughing a few times as he did so. So much for beautiful country air.

"Trust me, sir. We'll do well in our mission. And you are?" Inoichi trailed off as an inquiry.

"Satoya Masaki. I'm foreman of the mines hereabouts. Well, it wont do us no good to keep y'all standing here. I'll bring you to my wife's house." At the startled looks of the genin he explained, "This ain't exactly a commercial town you know? We don't cater to visitors. We get the job done and ship out, not in."

The genin relaxed a bit and follow the man through the streets. Not that there really was a distinguishable street. All the houses were stand alone buildings and there was at least a good ten feet between them. Towards the end of the road was a shack that was slightly larger than the other ones. Masaki knocked once on the door before pushing open the door. The hinges squeaked loudly as they moved open as the genin walked in.

"Inoichi-sensei, are you sure this place is stable?" Naruto whispered discreetly.

"I heard that, brat." Masaki sighed as he turned to look at the ninja. "It's stable. It's been through more than you'd know. Just buckle down and you'll survive. Now come on. You are all bunking on the top floor."

Naruto send a sheepish smile to his teammates before hurrying up after the foreman.

The top floor was very sparse to say the least. No walls bore down and instead there was just a large empty space. In the corner were four cots for them to sleep on, but there was nothing more. Not even a color accented the walls and instead they were the deep brown of the wood.

"I trust you'll find the accommodations pleasant enough. None of us have much better so there's no use in complaining." Masaki said shortly. The man ran a hand through his soot covered hair. "The shipment won't be ready until two day's time so you can just sit around. Well, if you need anything Noriko is downstairs."

The foreman trudged back down the stairs and left Team Tsume to themselves. "So, what now?" Kei asked. "There's nothing for us to really do here. I doubt either of them thought to bring scrolls along or anything." She said waving at her two teammates.

"Ah, but Kei-chan! Not all knowledge comes from a scroll. You forget that you have me along." Inoichi said pleasantly. He clapped his hands twice before saying, "It's quite handy that we have some extra time. I can give you run about for towns like this."

He walked over to one of the walls before rolling up the side window. He motioned for the genin to join him before waving a hand over the town. "What do you think these people are like? You know what I mean. How do their hearts and minds work? What makes them tick?"

Shikamaru closed his eyes for a moment and thought. If Inoichi was asking them then he must have believe that they could figure it out. So just by walking through the town they should be able to get it. "They're... Normal." Naruto mumbled softly. Shikamaru looked over at his teammate with confusion evident in his eyes. Normal? What did that mean?

"Everyday they wake up and expect the same thing. They're not like shinobi who are used to the concepts of death or of the world changing in a moment's notice. They know what will happen tomorrow and the day after and the day after. So seeing people so different must be alienating. This town doesn't have any shinobi heritage does it?" Naruto asked.

"No, Naruto-kun. It doesn't." Inoichi smiled sadly.

"Ah." Shikamaru finally got it. "The stories about shinobi must have reached them by now. Certain if they requested us they must know about shinobi. We and them... We're different people. Our mindsets are totally changed from what they are. To fight for us means we use kunai and jutsu. To fight for them means a day of hard work in the mines to bring home food for the family."

"Right, Shikamaru-kun. Knowing this different mindset we have to figure out how to get into their hearts. Each type of person has a hack to get into their inner circle. The simpler the person is, the easier it can be. So, any ideas about how you'd do this? In fact, let that be your submission over the next two days. Try to find a way to become friends with the civilians of this town." Inoichi patted his genin warmly on the head before turning to the futons.

"Ah, now I'll go prepare the futons. You three should go try to work it out, hm?"

-TSUME-

"So? Any clues?" Kei ran a hand through her hair irritably. She was a numbers girl. Figuring out what people enjoyed and integrating with them was not her forte. The thought of it almost pained her.

"Well... How about no?" Naruto grinned weakly before sighing. "So... If we know how they tick it should be easier now. But we have to get past their natural instincts of being wary around us. Just like how shinobi act differently around civilians, they'll be the same. The only way I can think of this is to be really just... normal. But how do we do that?"

The genin walked slowly through the town as they stewed over their assignment. "We'd have to change how they perceive us, but there are enough people in the town to make it difficult. Especially since the men go to work in the mines for most of the day. It would be too hard to communicate with them with such a short time span..." Shikamaru mumbled. "Ah, how troublesome this is."

"Well... They do say that actions speak louder than words. It seems that most of the workers are married so perhaps if we do chores for the housewives they'll communicate to their husbands?" Kei suggested.

"Ah! That could work, Kei-chan! We'd just have to find enough jobs... Erk. There's only twenty or so houses so hard can this be, right? Let's go!"

Naruto rushed up to one of the nearby houses with Shikamaru and Kei in tow. He released their hands before rapping quickly on the door. The sound of feet met their ears as the woman rushed to the door. "One moment!" She fiddled with the door knob before pulled open the door.

A woman with frizzled black hair tied up in a white scarf opened the door and looked at them wearily. "Ah. You're the ninja aren't you? Is there anything you need from me?"

Naruto stared for a moment before chirping, "Naw! We don't need anything from you! We just kinda wondered if there was anything we could do to help you! So is there?"

The woman sighed in relief. "Ah. Well I suppose so. Do come in." The genin entered the shack. "My name is Masuno Tsubaki. My husband is currently out in the mines, but I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you helped me out a bit."

She waved around at the house. "I've given up on ever getting rid of all the dust in here, but there are a few boards that are beginning to get cracks in them. I have sealant, but I can't reach high enough to repair the parts near the ceiling. Can you help with that?

"Hai, Masuno-san. We'll get to work on it!" Naruto smiled and grabbed the sealant from the box that the woman had pointed towards. He twisted open the lid and gave it a sniff before slamming the cap back over it. It smelled nasty. "Come on Kei-chan! Shikamaru-kun! Let's go!"

-TSUME-

"There is absolutely no way we can do this fast enough, Naruto-san." Kei sighed as she slumped against one of the nearby buildings. It had taken them nearly five hours to take care of only three houses. The sun was already beginning to set and there were at least another seventeen houses to go. "I doubt word of mouth will work that well so that everyone loves us by daybreak."

"Ah... I know what you mean, Kei-chan." Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly before turning back towards Masaki's house. "We'd better get back to Inoichi-sensei though. I bet he's gonna be waiting for us."

Shikamaru held out a hand to help Kei up from the ground before following after Naruto. The trio made their way through the empty streets. As Naruto put his hand on the door a loud rumble shook the earth beneath them. The shacks swayed back and forth with some shingles tumbling from the roofs. "What?" Naruto cried out in shock.

He flattened to the ground with the rest of his group to wait out the earthquake. Soon the earth began to let up its shakes and the three got up from the ground. The door to the house burst open and Noriko was flying out of the house. Panic was light up in her eyes as she dashed away from the trio.

"Naruto-kun! Kei-chan! Shikamaru-kun!" Inoichi called out to his students as he followed after Noriko. "We have to get to the mines! The workers haven't come back yet and if they were still inside..." He needed no further explanation as the trio rushed towards the mines.

A minor earthquake was bad enough for the mines, but that one was bad enough to be visible. That could not be a good sign. "Masaki! Hiro!" Noriko stood by the elevator shaft and was pounding on the grate barring her from falling down the chute. "Do you hear me?" She screamed down the shaft, but received no response.

Inoichi placed a hand on the woman's shoulder and pulled her away. "We'll deal with this." He slipped out a senbon from his waist pocket and jimmied the grating open. The thick wire of the elevator pulley stood before them as Inoichi turned to his students. "Stay up here. Something like this is too dangerous for all of you." A dangerous look flashed in his eyes to make his point.

He turned back to the shaft and let chakra flow to his feet. He leaped across to the other side of the elevator before he began running down the edges of the wall. The thumping of his feet resounded and let an echo reverberate back up to his students long after he disappeared from their sight.

The trio look at one another helplessly. They had all at least learned some minor form of tree walking, but it was such a long way down... And if they got down, what would they do?

"Naruto-san, Shikamaru-san, come over here." Kei waved the genin over to a small boulder and took a seat down. The two boys looked at their friend curiously. "Do you trust me?"

"That's silly Kei-chan! Of course we trus-"

"I mean, do you trust me enough to use a forbidden jutsu without any supervision." That was the big question. Kei gripped the notebook in her arms tightly. There were some jutsu in there that could possibly save the miners, but would it be safe for her teammates? She wasn't sure. They were forbidden jutsu for a reason and they were only genin. If they overexerted themselves there would be no chance of their survival especially without Inoichi there to help. She only knew a little bit of medical jutsu, but she hadn't covered chakra transferal and she wasn't about to risk everything on a gamble.

Shikamaru looked between his comrades warily. "If you think that we could pull it off, then yes. I mean..." Shikamaru sighed nervously, "You always base everything off the facts. If you think it's within our abilities to pull this off, then I'd trust you with it."

"I agree with Shikamaru-kun! If you believe in us, then we'll definitely do it!" Naruto smiled cheekily.

"A-ah..." Kei smiled softly at their faith in her. She slipped the notebook out from under her arm and flipped to three-quarters of her way through the book. She flipped past dozens of blank pages until she found what she was looking for. The symbols across the page were her own work and she had never had the time to teach her comrades how to read her script.

"Naruto-kun, the jutsu you'd be learning is much more ambitious than ours." She said pointing at Shikamaru and herself. "It's called the **Kagebunshin no Jutsu**. I think you can do it though. We all know how amazing your chakra system is. The only handseal you have to us is the Tiger Seal. The scroll suggested that you need to release your chakra in a sudden burst so your chakra can come out to form a body. If you exert too much, you may suffer chakra exhaustion so be careful."

Naruto nodded solemnly before getting up from the ground. "I'll go practice a bit to see if I get the hang of it, ok? I'll be right over there so you can see me in case I faint or something." Naruto grinned before running off to begin his practice. There was no time to waste. He had to learn this quickly if he was going to be of any use.

"Shikamaru-san, your jutsu is going to rely a lot on Naruto-san. Yin and Yang Jutsu aren't offensive by nature so you'll be using the clones as a conduct to provide support. **Kage Tenpu Suru no Jutsu** is a technique where you can attach pieces of your shadow into Naruto's clones so you can sense what the clones sense. You can attach onto as many clones as you want, but it will probably stress your mind to experience multiple things at the same time. So only split onto one or two of the clones, alright? And you should probably cover your real body's eyes so you don't have to experience too much. You'll be able to communicate only with your main body and not with the shadow." Kei explained hurriedly. "You should be alright since you only have to latch on tiny fragments to make the jutsu work."

"A-ah." Shikamaru nodded lazily before getting up from his seat. "I'd better keep watch of Naruto-san then. Oh right." Shikamaru paused in thought. "You said Naruto-san had a jutsu more complex than **ours**. What are you doing?"

Kei jumped a bit from her seat before giving a weak smile. "Ah. I see you caught that, Shikamaru-san. **Hanafuu** **no Jutsu ** is mine. But you see, I've already been practicing a bit." She tore a blade of grass from the ground and held it up to Shikamaru. "You see, I hear the things that this blade of grass hears so to speak. I cannot see anything, but I can hear things." She rubbed the grass between her fingers. "It was banned since no one was particularly comfortable having such an easy way to eavesdrop on people. It doesn't take too much energy though so I'll be fine."

Her golden eyes looked up at the genius warily. "Don't overexert yourself, ok? It may be handy for you to learn that jutsu, but the last thing any of us want is for one of us to die."

"A-ah. I understand. How troublesome."

**Kage Tenpu Suru no Jutsu|| A Rank Jutsu. Jutsu that attaches onto the shadows of animate objects to transmit images and sounds to the body.  
Hanafuu no Jutsu|| B Rank Jutsu. Jutsu that allows the user to hear things through a piece of fauna.  
Kagebunshin no Jutsu|| B Rank Jutsu. Jutsu that creates copies of the user that are able to touch and be touched. Can also transmit memories back to the user. **

**I have semi-returned! I have no excuse for being gone save for that I'm being kept occupied by a virtual tournament on a children's pet site. It's quite depressing actually. Well, I hope you liked the chapter! :D Everything will be connected in the end so I hope you follow along! Thank you everyone for reviewing and alerting me. It makes me so happy to be able to read your comments! **

**And thanks to pokepikachu1 for betaing me again! **


	11. The Gamble

Life is a gamble. You can get hurt, but people die in plane crashes, lose their arms and legs in car accidents; people die every day. Same with fighters: some die, some get hurt, some go on. You just don't let yourself believe it will happen to you.  
**-****Muhammad Ali**

Chapter 10: The Gamble

"Heaven help us." Kei mumbled. Before her Naruto, well, a few hundred Narutos were giving her cocky smiles and high fiving each other. "Naruto-san, I thought I told you that **Kagebunshin no Jutsu** was a dangerous jutsu! You could endanger yourself by running out of chakra! Are you feeling alright?"

"Which one of you is the original?" Compared to Naruto's normal bunshin, these looked exactly like him. It was almost unnerving. They all had the same personality as well so they were extremely hard to tell apart.

"Over here, Kei-chan!" A hand waved eagerly towards the middle of the crowd. The group of Naruto's parted like the red sea to allow the original to make his way through. "Phew. I did good didn't I? Hehe..." Naruto looked proud of himself as he puffed out his chest.

Kei sighed before she let a flicker of green chakra envelop her hand before she placed on Naruto's forehead. Numbers flashed in her mind as she took his chakra system in.

He seemed... Perfectly fine. As if he had not just summoned dozens of sentient clones. How could that be? Was Naruto's chakra system really that incredible? What could make him be like this? She shook her head slightly. Now was not the time to be worrying about such things. The important thing was that he had managed to summon his clones.

"Yeah, you did great, Naruto-san." Kei smiled briefly at her teammate before turning to Shikamaru. "Try attaching your shadow to one of his clones and to him directly." Shikamaru nodded and stepped closer to Naruto.

He moved so his shadow intersected Naruto's shadow and one of his clone's shadows. He quickly signed and mumbled, "**Kage Tenpu Suru no Jutsu**."A black ripple escaped Shikamaru's shadow as he linked onto his friend's shadow.

Shikamaru closed his eyes and put a hand up to the side of his head as he winced slightly. Though his eyes were closed his saw so many things. Everything was strangely two-dimensional and he was staring up towards the sky. It was as if he was laying on the ground to cloud-gaze. He supposed being attached to the shadows meant that he'd see things directly from the shadow.

"You alright, Shikamaru-san?" Kei asked softly. If he was attached, then anything she said would probably be heard three different times. It would be best to talk softly to not disturb him too greatly.

"Ah. I'm fine." Shikamaru said quietly. He reached a hand out behind him and felt the air behind him and walked back until he reached the side of the cave wall. His knees bent and he placed himself carefully on the ground. He breathed in deeply and tried to recatch his breath as his teammates looked on worried.

The genius quickly noticed his teammates hesitation by the lack of sound. "Hurry up about it. I can't keep this up forever. How troublesome."

Kei and Naruto shared concerned looks before Naruto shook his head. "I'd better go." He whispered softly. He waved towards the rest of his clones before heading over to the elevator shaft. The blonde looked from the metal wire to the edge of the door for a moment before taking a deep breath. He took a few steps away from the entrance before breaking out into a run. Naruto leaped across the gap and fastened his arms around the metal.

Naruto let out a relaxed sigh before nodding quickly at Kei. He released his arms ever so slightly on the conveyor and began the long slide down to the shaft. The light slowly began to dim until Naruto was sliding down a long black corridor. Nothing lit the way for him as he headed down into the depths. What light was needed? They had expected for people to be in the elevator after all.

Blue eyes searched the area above him and he could just faintly make out the forms of his clones coming after him. That was when it struck him that he hadn't planned for how he would land. Would they all suddenly crash on top of him when he landed? Naruto swore silently and looked around for any signs of nearing the bottom. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a slight reflection. That had to be the bottom!

As the piece of metal neared, Naruto counted down until he reached the bottom. "Three... Two... One." Naruto released his hold on the wire and plummeted down to the bottom. It was only five feet, but needless to say, it hurt. He didn't have time to stop to catch his breath. Naruto rolled to the side quickly as dozens of his copies followed his way of reaching the bottom.

"Crap." Naruto grunted out as he rolled over the top of the elevator. He grabbed onto the top of the mechanical box before letting go a second later. The second fall was much lighter than the first, thank goodness. The blonde landed carefully on his feet and waited for his clones to all gather around him.

"Shikamaru-kun, I don't know if you can see anything so I'll try to talk a bit so you can understand what's going on." Naruto mumbled softly to his shadow. He turned to his clones and said, "Spread out into all the tunnels. If you find people then try and lead them back to the shaft. If you encounter Inoichi-sensei then disperse immediately and hope that he didn't see you clearly." Naruto was still not quite prepared to explain to his sensei why there were nearly a hundred versions of him running around.

"If you encounter an unknown enemy then try to follow him to see what he's up to. Once you do that then disperse to me so I can relay the information back to Kei-chan and Shikamaru-kun. Got it?" The Naruto clones all chorused a yes before spreading out through the tunnels.

The dimly lit clearing let out to five different tunnels. Each tunnel had cart tracks letting out to the main room. As his clones disappeared, Naruto sighed nervously. It was his turn to go now. A small gust of wind blew from behind him. Naruto whirled around to see a small blade of grass floating in the air beside him.

"Ah, Kei-chan... Don't scare me like that... Well I'm off! Wish me luck!" Naruto smiled cheekily before running off through the central tunnel.

-TSUME-

Inoichi rolled to the side before swiping a leg to disable his attacker. "Did you think that would work?" The man sneered at him as he slammed the flat of his sword into the information gatherer's head. Inoichi's head screamed at him as the man tumbled off to the side. The world shifted around him, but he had no time to stop.

Inoichi dived out of the way as a kunai embedded itself deep into the wall where he used to be. He flashed through the signs for an earth jutsu, but was halted in his efforts as a senbon sliced its way into one of his hands. Inoichi grunted in pain as he felt the metal shaft rip into his vein.

The unnervingly familiar sound of electricity crackled out from his left and Inoichi forced himself away from the wall. "Come, now Yamanaka-san! I thought you were a sensei now! Or did they just give you that job because you're old and senile now? Having a baby girl can do that to you I suppose." The taunting voice echoed to his side.

Inoichi forced himself to stay calm as he took in his surroundings. Everything was just so blasted dark! Somehow Aoi was able to see him and that was anything but good. Once and awhile his eyes caught the faint glimmer of the sword that Aoi was carrying, but unfortunately it was once again cloaked by darkness.

"Weren't you the one to remind me this? Use all your senses, Aoi-kun. You're going to get yourself killed unless you can use them all." A sound in the air alerted Inoichi to the impending sword coming his way. He haphazardly slipped a kunai out of his pocket and swung wildly towards the sound. A clang echoed as the steel met steel. Inoichi had found his target.

Emboldened by this, Inoichi used his other bloodied hand to reach out for his former comrade. The familiar feeling of fabric met his groping fingers and he latched onto Aoi's sleeve. "Che. Not senile yet I suppose. It's coming though." Inoichi's eyes widened as a glowing yellow ring surrounded the sword in his foe's hand.

A gasp escaped him as pain coursed through his body. His grip weakened and the kunai fell out of his grasp and onto the floor. Inoichi stumbled back into the wall and he clutched at his arm weakly. What was that?

"The Sword of the Thunder God... It's quite helpful at times, isn't it, Yamanaka-san? I suppose you must know first hand now." Aoi put the sword daintily under his companion's chin and tilted it so Inoichi was facing him. Even if Inoichi saw nothing, Aoi could still enjoy the pained look on the man's face. "I'm surprised that you came in here. I thought you were smarter than that." The green haired man clicked his tongue disapprovingly.

"I thought it was you that always told us not to do anything unnecessary... What a hypocrite you are." A bolt of electricity shot out of the sword and into the elder Yamanaka. Inoichi let out a guttural cry before darkness enveloped him and everything faded to black.

-TSUME-

Kei jolted out of her trance. That sound... It sounded like Inoichi! The girl bit her lip tightly. There was nothing she could do from up here, was there? Her mind raced as she thought of all the possible ways to communicate with Naruto. She drove her consciousness back into the blade of grass and listened carefully for any sound of footsteps.

One of the things about the **Hanafuu no Jutsu** was that you could change the direction of where the flora went with the wind. The downside was that you had no clue where you were going. It would all depend if she could remember the way back without seeing anything. Sweat percolated on her brow as she listened carefully for any sound of one of the clones.

The grass floated away from the direction in which she had heart Inoichi's voice and towards the main tunnel. Suddenly, she heard the patter of feet coming in her direction. She let out a sigh of relief and made another quick handsign. The blade of grass flapped around violently in an attempt to grab the boy's attention. It was exceedingly hard to do as a blade of grass is rather small and hard to see. Fortunately, luck was on her side.

"Kei-chan? Are you trying to tell me something?" The familiar sound of Naruto met her ears much to her relief. He had seen her communication. She raised her arms up and down to make the leaf look as if it was nodding. "Ah, I forgot! You can't talk er... Lead the way, I suppose? I'll find out what you need when we get there I guess..."

Thank goodness that Naruto seemed to be quick on the uptake. Now for the hard part. Her brow furrowed in thought as she began the careful process of leading her companion towards the sound she had heard earlier. "Urk." Kei grunted in annoyance. Walking in the dark was harder than she originally thought. She couldn't even feel her way around walls easily because the grass had such small dimensions.

The blade of grass floated backwards down the tunnel. It drifted slowly as it was carried by a faint wind. The Naruto clone slowly followed after the blade as it made its way through the darkness. "Hmm? What to do now?" The clone's eyes widened and it immediately backpedalled to a wall and flattened itself to merge into the darkness.

"Thank you, Kei-chan. I'll take it from here." The clone murmured softly to the grass before edging its way towards the sound.

On the outside, Kei let out a sigh of relief. It seemed that this would work well after all.

Inside the tunnels, the clone took slow steps after the sound. After taking a few steps into the darkness, he saw a yellow light in the distance. Steps echoed in the tunnel and a shadow grew across the walls leaving a churning feeling in the clone's stomach.

A figure emerged from the darkness holding out some sort of torch in front of it. The clone's eyes narrowed as his eyes tried to adjust to the sudden light. Suddenly it clicked in his mind. It was Rokusho Aoi, the man they had met on the way here! What was he doing in the tunnels? His naive mind did not even comprehend that Aoi had any evil intentions until he saw was Aoi was holding in his fist.

Trailing behind him was the bloodied form of Inoichi. Blonde threads were entangled in Aoi's fist as he carelessly dragged the jonin behind him. "Ahh. It's so dark down here. It's a pity that I couldn't just face them all above ground." Aoi sighed dramatically as he headed down the tunnels. Naruto watched worriedly from his place along the wall.

Inoichi was caught? What chance would they all stand if the person was able to take down Inoichi so easily? The clone bit it's thumb tightly in thought. He'd have to disperse for now, but at least he knew where Aoi was going. He was heading back to the elevator shaft. A small poof filled the air as the clone dispersed.

-TSUME-

Naruto gripped his head tightly as information whirled around in his brain. It was strange recalling memories that he was definitely sure he had never experienced. He searched through his thoughts when he came upon the clone's most recent realization. Inoichi had been caught. "Shoot. Shikamaru-kun, tell Kei-chan that Inoichi-sensei has been caught by Rokusho-san. I don't know what he's doing here, but apparently he's dragging Sensei back to the elevator shaft. I'm going to lead the people back through the tunnel and try to see if I can beat him there. If I can I'll send as many people up as I can and try to use my clones to stall for time."

It worried Naruto that he couldn't get any confirmation from his shadow that Shikamaru had heard him, but it would have to do. Naruto turned to the three miners that he had found on his way down the tunnel. The scraggly men looked at the boy anxiously before stepping after Naruto. It wouldn't be their choice if he was the only help they were going to get.

"Come on then." Naruto waved blindly towards the men before heading back from where he came. The men flicked on the lights on their helmets and shone small beacons of light down the hallway. Naruto found it reassuring after walking in darkness for so long. Finally he could see what the halls he was walking down looked like. Small droplets of water leaked from the ceiling into puddles on the floor. The wooden beams holding up the tunnel seemed so weak that Naruto almost thought they were on the verge of collapse. The miners didn't seem too worried though.

Naruto looked back down the tunnel where he had found the men. A small pile of debris was piled in the corner from when he had to excavate the miners. None of them were badly hurt, but one of them looked like he had a dislocated arm and another had inhaled a lot of dust, but it wasn't anything they were unused to. There had been a fourth in their party, but the fourth was no more.

Naruto wound his way back through the hallways when suddenly he pulled to a stop. "Turn off your lights." He whispered to the three behind him. He heard the clicks of switches as the lights turned off. From the edges of his eyesight, he saw the main room ahead of them. They couldn't be sure whether or not Aoi was there so it would be best to be cautious.

"Stay behind me. I'll try to see if I can get you out." Naruto motioned to the party and they set off again for the main room. Naruto peered out of the tunnel and sighed as he saw it was all clear. "Get into the elevator. Take it back up and send it back down afterwards. I don't know when the next miners will arrive."

The men nodded solemnly and rushed over to the shaft. One of the men, a younger one, turned back towards Naruto and mumbled a quiet, "Thank you." Before entering the elevator.

Naruto smiled back cheerily and turned back towards the five tunnels leading away from the room. Which tunnel had Aoi gone into? Naruto sat down and sorted through his thoughts until he figured out where his dispersed clone had come from.

Naruto looked up and gazed at the fourth tunnel warily. That would be where Aoi would come out of. Now that he knew that, what would he do? Heavens, he didn't have a real plan for how do defeat the man. The blonde was not stupid, he knew a lone genin would have no chance against a jonin and much less a jonin that had defeated Inoichi.

Naruto twitched worriedly in his place before looking back up at the tunnel. "Maybe I can trap it?" This man was a jonin, he'd see the traps... Would it ruin Naruto's element of surprise if he laid awful traps? Oh goodness, he was thinking of surprise attacks now? The boy moaned as he rubbed his forehead. Planning ahead was Shikamaru's job, not his!

Naruto counted the limited amount of jutsu he knew on a single hand. He vaguely knew how to use his air affinity. He could create kage bunshin. He could make slush bunshin. If he tried really hard he could probably throw a kunai with remote accuracy... Things looked grim.

The tunnels weren't exactly of hardy construction either. Naruto couldn't risk setting off any paper bombs or he could accidentally bring the whole mine down on top of them. No one would like them if ninja destroyed their only means of sustenance.

"Erk..." Naruto looked back at his shadow gloomily. "I don't suppose you could come down here and help could you? No... You guys probably are low on energy as it is.. Gah! What do I do now?" Naruto wracked his head for ideas only to find none. He'd just have to stall for time and hope that Inoichi would wake up soon. "My job isn't being the brains..."

Naruto leaned back onto the dirt and heaved slightly. What would he do... Hide. The first thing he should do was hide. Naruto looked around the tunnels to see if there were any good places. The room was circular so that meant there were no corners to hide behind. He looked at one of the timber beams with scrutinizing eyes before following the wood up to the roof. That could work.

An ornate series of beams crisscrossed along the ceiling. Luckily for Naruto, the beams were only six or seven feet above the ground. The roof didn't have to be unnecessarily large after all. Pale fingers traced the wood for a moment before they pulled out a kunai. Naruto dug the metal into the beam and quickly shimmied up the pole.

He crouched quietly on the rod and held his breath. After a few moments he relaxed. It seemed that it was used to holding up a few thousand pounds of weight and a single Naruto wouldn't cause it to fall apart just yet.

He crawled over towards the entrance to the fourth tunnel and scrunched himself up so he wouldn't be visible. The blonde kept a hand over his mouth to keep his breathing steady. It wouldn't do him any good if he was heard before he could launch an attack.

His spare hand gripped the hilt of the kunai tightly. And then the waiting began. It was dreadful to just lie there and wait for your enemy to arrive. A clicking sound surprised him and the boy tensed, but relaxed once more when he realized it was just the sound of the elevator heading to the bottom again.

"Ah? Some of them got out did they? It's no matter to me I suppose." The hairs on the back of Naruto's neck stood up. Aoi was here.

The green haired man still had Inoichi's hair in his hand as he towed the jonin behind him. He slipped out a roll of ninja wire from his jacket and leaned Inoichi up against the railing. He sat the unconscious jonin up against the beam before pulling out a length of wire.

If Inoichi was tie to the beam then it would be exceeding hard for Naruto to get him out. He'd have to move now. Naruto rolled off the beam and swung at Aoi's head. The Amenin ducked unconsciously out of the way and whirled around to see who had attacked him.

"Hah? One of the genin I see." Aoi snorted. "I suppose this will save me the time of getting you. It doesn't seem as if your two teammates are here though. A pity, I will have to go to the surface to collect them after all." Aoi twirled the sword around his hand with a cruel smile on his face.

Naruto let out a string of angry curses as he looked around for anything that could give him the advantage. Attacking head on would get him killed and he knew it. Oh what was he going to do now? "**Kagebunshin no Jutsu!**" He had to stall for as long as he could. "Attack him!" He point the clones at Aoi before running towards his sensei.

He grabbed his fallen sensei by one of his bloodied arms and dragged the elder man off to the elevator shaft. He dashed his way into the elevator before slamming a hand down onto the red button. A crackle of electricity sounded behind him and Naruto glanced back to see his clones all poofing into the air. Naruto cried out and dropped onto one knee as memories of all his clones suddenly whirled back into his mind.

"Stupid boy. Though it is a bit impressive you can do that." Aoi sneered as he approached the elevator shaft. A frown crossed his face as the metal grate slowly began to cross the entrance to the elevator.

The man sent a burst of chakra out of his feet and rushed into the elevator just before the grating closed. Naruto stood frozen in fear as the man before him slowly began to walk towards him. This was not good.

"It's harder to use this piece of junk on here now isn't it?" Aoi sighed dramatically as he twirled his sword around his hand. "One little zap and we're both fried. Wouldn't that just be tragic? Well, tragic for me. Not as much for you." He dropped the sword and the tip embedded itself in the boards on the floor. "We'll have to do this the hard way then." A malicious smirk crossed the man's face as he gripped the ninja wire in his fist.

He held onto one of the tips before throwing the base at Naruto. The genin's eyes widened as the ball came rolling towards him. He dropped down onto the floor just in time as the wire sliced off some strands of his hair. Naruto dived behind the thick wire in the center of the small box.

There was nowhere to hide but there and it provided very little protection. Soon the meager light from the main room faded away and Naruto was shrouded in darkness. Naruto took slight relief in the fact that it was now dark. This kind of blindness wen two ways didn't it? Wrong.

The roll of ninja wire flew out of the black and coiled itself around Naruto's arm. The genin squeaked in surprised as blood was drawn from the barbed wire. How was he spotted so easily? Naruto couldn't see a single thing! He reached up to try and jerk the wire off of his arm only to find that the action pulled the metal even deeper. He'd have to do something else.

"You can't run, boy. You're stuck here... With me." Naruto could just imagine the man's sickly sweet smile. The moaning of the elevator shaft stopped Naruto from tracing the origin of the sound. That left one possible option left. Naruto stuck his hand into his ninja pack and pulled out a fist full of kunai and senbon.

The boy wildly tossed the weapons around in all directions silently prayed for one to hit his target. A soft grunt met his ears and Naruto had to stop himself from letting out a cheer. His opponent probably had no problem figuring out where the genin was.

"You'll pay for that." A glimmer of silver met his eyes before suddenly he felt something slice his neck. Naruto coughed as a senbon struck his neck. He froze for a moment before crumpling to the ground.

"Just in time. I have to go deal with the other ones now." Light filtered into the elevator shaft to find Naruto paralyzed on the floor. Aoi smiled before turning around to the grating. "One down, two to go."

**Kage Tenpu Suru no Jutsu|| A Rank Jutsu. Jutsu that attaches onto the shadows of animate objects to transmit images and sounds to the body.  
Hanafuu no Jutsu|| B Rank Jutsu. Jutsu that allows the user to hear things through a piece of flora.  
Kagebunshin no Jutsu|| B Rank Jutsu. Jutsu that creates copies of the user that are able to touch and be touched. Can also transmit memories back to the user. **

**Yay! The tournament is over so I'll be back to updating frequently for you all!**

**As an update... I have over 150 people on alerts for this story! I'm so happy! Thanks to each and every one of you for reading this when I update. /bows  
I hope my story will continue to live up to your expectations! This is my best received story so I'm excited to continue writing! **

**Special thanks again to my beta, pokepikachu1! **

**Also talk to me! If there's anything you think I could do better, send me a message and I'll try to work on it in future updates. Thanks!**


	12. Worse Things

Once we have a war there is only one thing to do. It must be won. For defeat

brings worse things than any that can ever happen in war

**-Ernest Hemingway**

Chapter 11: Worse Things

"Shoot." Shikamaru's eyes shot open and he immediately dispelled his jutsu. Naruto was taken out. That not good at all. He stood up sharply from his seat but stumbled back against the rock face as a wave of nausea passed over him. He gritted his teeth as he bore through the sea of sickness. He didn't have time for this! "Kei!" He gasped out for his friend and was slightly relieved by the sound of footsteps coming towards him.

"Nara-san, what's wrong?" Kei's golden eyes glinted in worry. She'd worried about the forbidden jutsu, but it seemed just like the perfect time. She should have waited a few years. She silently cursed her early actions as she put a hand on Shikamaru's shoulder to help stabilize him. Inoichi was still down in the mines and she hardly knew any medical jutsu. A chakra scan was just about as far as she went.

Sweat dripped on her brow as she shook her companion slightly. The jutsu she had done had been fairly weak and didn't require much chakra, but her chakra pool was relatively tiny. She had expended too much energy trying to lure the Naruto clone towards the voice. Now that she thought about it, she hoped Naruto was alright. Did Shikamaru see something from the shadow?

"Get the civilian away from here." Shikamaru coughed out. The worried wife was still hovering around the mines. Clearly she couldn't relax after all that had happened, but if she was going to get in trouble they'd have to move her. Kei nodded back to Shikamaru and hurried off to Noriko's side.

"Noriko-san, we need you to head back to your house. Lock the doors and if anyone tries to come in don't let them in unless you hear one of our voices, alright?" Noriko gave a worried nod before casting one last longing look towards the tunnel. She turned away and hurried off dragging her dress on the ground.

After Noriko had left, Kei looked back to Shikamaru. If she had been told to move Noriko out of the way it probably meant they were in a combat situation. Did that mean anything about Naruto then? "Kei, Naruto's down." Shikamaru panted out hurriedly. There was obviously no time for formalities and he just needed to get it out.

His brain was racing around in circles. The recoil from the jutsu was enough to stun him at exactly the wrong time. He needed to be ready to respond to attacks and even plan a strategy! He wasn't sure if he could do either of those the way he was at the moment.

He thought over the small repertoire of jutsu that he knew. His father had taught him the beginnings of a few Nara clan jutsu and he was able to create a defensive coil of shadows. Perhaps he could trap the man in a **Kagemane** for Kei to take him out with a kunai? It was nearly impossible to play out. They weren't strong enough to keep a fully grown man down.

Aoi had obviously been slightly tired after fighting Inoichi and Naruto, but there was no way he'd be weak enough to be taken down by two genin. They were in a completely different class from him. Teamwork could only go so far in situations like these.

Memories of the sword flashed into Shikamaru's mind. That was right. If he used the sword then he could attack from long range without worries of being hit in return. He gripped the rock face as he thought. There had to be something that he could do that would raise the probabilities of their success!

No matter how he thought, with only two or three types of jutsu they'd have to resort to basics. They'd need a miracle to get through this. Perhaps he wouldn't try to kill them? He hadn't killed Naruto, but maybe he was waiting for something more than just a scrap. "Kei, can you climb up on the overhang?"

Shikamaru pointed towards the small indentation in the rock face above the entrance to the mines. Kei looked warily at the ledge but nodded. If she had to do it then she would. "Right. Get up there and get a kunai or two out. I'm going to try and trap Rokusho-san in my jutsu and I need you to drop on him and stab him. I'll release my jutsu just before impact so don't worry about hurting me. I doubt I can keep it up for very long anyways."

Kei frowned. She's personally seen the damage that could transmit through the **Kagemane**. If he didn't release in time she would certainly kill him if she impacted. However, maybe this was what teamwork was like? Trusting your partner with your very life to ensure the ending of the mission. She sighed and bobbed her head. She would do it.

"Good. Get up there quickly. We don't have much time." Shikamaru choked out. He noticed how despairingly weak his voice got at the end. He had to get himself together before Aoi made it to the top. He'd only left Naruto as he lost consciousness so he knew Aoi was nearing the exit. They probably had two minutes at most. When it counted, two minutes was a lot of time.

As Kei went to scale her way up the rock, Shikamaru flattened himself against the rock wall. He stood a few feet away from the doorway so he outline could not be seen from inside. He checked his own shadow and was relieved to see that his shadow wouldn't be visible from the inside of the cave. Now he just had to set up the jutsu.

He rolled his head from side to side and stretched out his arms. The ominous clang of the elevator shaft sounded from inside the cave. Aoi had reached the top. Shikamaru's hands quickly flew through the signs faster than he had even thought possible and he whispered, "**Kagemane no Jutsu**." A black tendril from his shadow slipped along the walls of the cave. The only light in the small cavern was the natural light that filtered in through the gap. The shadow was almost impossible to distinguish in the light.

Footsteps. Never did Shikamaru think he would be so afraid of a few footfalls. "Now let me see where those little birds are. Hopefully they haven't flown the coop so early, hm? It would be a nuisance to track them down." Two loud thumps from inside the cave where heard. They didn't sound anything like feet or rocks. They sounded like bodies.

Shikamaru dearly hoped that didn't mean that his companions were dead. Overhead, Kei tried to force herself close to the wall. She had her back facing away so that when she fell she'd be directly facing Aoi. It didn't make her feel very safe with her back exposed. She clung to the side and silently prayed that her shadow wouldn't cast down. Her prayers were not answered.

"Little birdie! I see you there. Come down from your nest, hm? Perhaps we can...talk." Aoi let out a bemused chuckle at the last word. Both parties knew that he would most certainly not be simply talking to them. It would be a onesided slaughter if everything turned out as he planned.

Kei contemplated her options for a moment. She need to be able to drop down on him, but if he thought there was any hope of her coming down he wouldn't come out. She looked down at Shikamaru and saw him with his back to the rock face. Maybe this would work if only she could tell him to attach to Aoi and walk him out.

Luckily, not all communication needs to be vocalized. The black tendril creeped slowly along the wall, thankful for the distraction Kei had provided. It slid across the ground until finally contacting with Aoi's shadow. The bond was complete.

Shikamaru let out a sigh. Now would be the hard part. He tightened his hands into the final hand sign and bolted away from the rock. Aoi, much to his surprise, moved along with the boy. He ran out into the sunlight, but was unable to shield his eyes from the sudden change in light. He managed to wince as he tried to close his weakened eyes.

His body stopped stock still and Aoi realized he was beneath the girl above. He had to break free from the jutsu and he had to do it now. Despite what he liked to think, Aoi knew his chakra pool wasn't large. If he used enough chakra to dispel the jutsu then he'd be severely weakened. It was a chance he'd have to take then.

Aoi flared out his chakra violently and a roll of the blue colored energy snapped the power of the **Kagemane**. Aoi gasped as most of his remaining energy was sucked out of his system. He gritted his teeth and rolled out of the way as Kei came hurtling down at him.

Kei hit the dirt with kunai extending and grunted as a small shockwave ran up her arms. She'd missed him! What were they going to do now? She forced herself up from the ground and abandoned her kunai as she fled back towards her companion. "Shoot, shoot, shoot." She mumbled as she skittered back over to Shikamaru's side.

The boy was collapsed by the wall. Shikamaru gasped for breath as he felt most of his remaining chakra slip away. The chakra blast was too much for him to take. The prickling feeling under the skin on his arms told him that he had chakra burns. The only bright side to that was it meant Aoi had chakra burns as well.

The black haired boy cough a rattling cough as Kei neared. That was right, they still had a battle to fight. There was no time for him to just sit down. Even if all he could do was wield a kunai it would help. But what chance would they have now? Even if Aoi was tired he was a jonin and they were genin.

Perhaps he should just tell Kei to run. It seemed as if they were all going to die anyways. "Kei." Shikamaru weakly gasped out her name. "Do you have any explosive notes?" Aoi was still looking as if he was in a haze. They probably had a few moments to talk and gather themselves.

"Get inside the cave. Once we're inside set off an explosive note and get the front of the cave to crumble. Be careful though since I highly doubt all of the miners got out in time. We can't set off bad tremors." Shikamaru advised hoarsely as he wobbled up from the ground. The cave entrance was only a few feet away. He grasped the side of the wall and quickly hobbled his way into the cave. They'd have to trap themselves in.

Kei nodded mutely and helped usher her teammate into the depths of the cavern. It was lucky for them that there was nearly 40 feet of space before the shaft. She dropped Shikamaru off towards where Inoichi and Naruto lay before pulling out three exploding tags from her pouch. She rubbed her fingers sharply against them to activate the seals and threw them expertly at the roof above the exit.

The sheets flattened against the rocky overhang before glowing a bright red. The resulting explosion was enough to send the already weak legged kids stumbling back father into the darkness. It was pitch black save for the small trickles of light coming through the gaps in the rock.

Kei coughed as dust wormed its way into her lungs. She waved away the invisible dust and bent down to the ground. She patted around and tried to figure out where her teammates where. She found a silky bunch of long hair and knew she had reached Inoichi. That meant Naruto had to be nearby!

She took in a deep breath before forcing out small remnants of her chakra into her hand. The medical chakra glowed a small green and light up the small cavern. She spotted Naruto and quickly tapped him on the forehead. His chakra was as high as ever for whatever reason, perhaps he was a power sleeper, but it was deeply agitated. She drew her arm away onto for it to be caught in a harsh grip.

Kei's golden eyes widened as she bore into Naruto's now glowing red eyes. "Uzumaki-kun?" She spoke quietly. His eyes were red. Why were they red? Was this a result of his chakra system, but she had never read anything about this! It had to be an aberration!

Naruto, or the being that inhabited Naruto, looked around the room that was now partially light due to the chakra coming off of him in waves. His eyes latched onto Shikamaru who had been silent in the corner for a good few minutes now.

The ponytailed boy was an absolute mess. He panted heavily against the wall as sweat streamed down his face. Every few breaths he let out a rasping cough. Whether the cough was from the dust or the chakra exhaustion, Kei wasn't sure she could tell. What she could tell was that he looked absolutely awful right now. He'd pulled off two high level jutsu in quick succession and he hadn't been prepared for either of them. This was supposed to be a simple guarding mission. Aoi wasn't supposed to be here out for revenge.

Naruto's eyes stared at Shikamaru for a moment before something truly incredible happened. "**Shikamaru... Who did this?**" The last s was drawn out into a hiss as hatred began to bubble up in the boy's eyes. Naruto's voice was frighteningly low. Kei wasn't sure if this really was Naruto at this point.

"**Ahh, of course... Rokusho-san was it? I'll kill him.**" The cold resignation was terrifying. He talked of killing the man as if it was nothing. Kei had already come to terms with the fact she'd have to kill someone, but she'd always set that event to being in the far future. Naruto wouldn't really just kill the man now would he?

Naruto released Kei's arm from his vice grip before pulling himself from the ground. His balance was perfect, something Kei knew that Naruto couldn't pull off. The glowing light that had originated from his eyes was now beginning to ebb off the boy in waves. It was eerily familiar to the chakra flash she had seen Aoi give not ten minutes ago.

But, if this was chakra then how on earth was he still alive? His chakra system was incredible, but no one should have been able to stand up to this! Then the quote crossed her mind, "It is therefore believed that these chakra stores can only be obtained through a connection with a tailed beast or another creature of that nature." Naruto had to be a jinchuuriki.

Her mind raced as she stared at the boy in front of her. She had heard stories of the nine tailed fox, but did this mean that Naruto was the container? She felt something akin to horror. Not because that the boy she was standing next to was a demon, but the fact that the demon was pulled _their_ Naruto away from them at this moment.

She opened her mouth to protest, but it was too late. The Kyuubi let out a demonic roar before running at the boulders that concealed them from view. A loud explosion was heard as Naruto pelted through the boulders and back out into the sun. The glowing red eyes scanned the surroundings before latching on a green haired man that had collapsed next to a tree.

Aoi jumped at the sound of a second explosion and looked towards the cave to see the hulking red form. That was the boy he had beaten in the elevator shaft right? There was no way he should have been up so quickly! Aoi forced himself to his feet only to be sent back through the tree. The man tumbled across the earth until he finally skidded to a stop.

Pain echoed up his body as he gasped to get air back in. The boy had moved so quickly! How was that even possible for a genin? He slid his sword out of his sheath and held it up protectively in front of him. It seemed that he'd have to be on his guard for now. Underestimating your opponents always ended in death.

"**Inoichi-sensei... Shikamaru... You hurt them and now you **_**will**_** pay.**" The Kyuubi growled as it neared. Coiled of burning chakra came off of the boy's body in waves. The killer intent was like nothing Aoi had never felt. He had gone head to head with many S Class Assassins in his time, but this was something different. There had been sadism, there had been malicious intent, but never had there been such a desire for black hearted revenge.

The feeling Aoi got was a clear message. This boy wanted to see him die a slow, painful, and miserable death. "**I'll start with your arms. I can't have you die too early on me now can I?**" Aoi instinctively flinched as the smug pleasure that crossed the Kyuubi's face. It was nothing like the boy he had been fighting only a bit ago. This was a true monster.

Aoi twirled his sword around his hand and sent off a crackling bolt of electricity towards the blonde. Naruto bent over backwards and let the energy pass harmlessly above him. This was all a show now. Aoi was ever so _obviously_ overwhelmed. It was nearly a joke that the man was even trying to face him.

The boy gave a maliciously sweet smile as he continued to walk closer and closer. Aoi fired off countless bolts of energy and backed away as he did so. The sword started to dim as more and more energy was sapped away from it and Aoi's eyes widened in fear. He had to get away. Forget Inoichi for now, it wasn't worth losing his life over.

He turned around and prepared to shunshin only to see an arm wrap around his midsection and throw him back in the direction of the cave. The sword slipped out of his grasp and went spiraling into a tree and Aoi found himself on the ground defenseless. He wheezed weakly and plucked the two kunai that Kei had earlier abandoned on the ground. That was when he felt a piece of metal slice across his neck.

Blood trickled from his lips and he looked back towards the cave. Through the opening that Naruto had made only minutes ago, Kei stood with a kunai in hand. Blood dripped from the kunai and Aoi lifted up a slow hand to the side of his neck. A trickle of blood exited the corner of his mouth. The jugular...

"You have five minutes. If you surrender we'll get you medical attention, if not you'll die." Kei's kunai quivered violently in her hand. Her voice had a facade of calmness, but anyone looking at her knew she was horrified.

"**Seriously? Why should we even let you live? You're a nukenin aren't you? You decided to attack Konoha so I have every right to kill you. Kei may be in a forgiving mood, but trust me. I am not.**" Aoi had nearly forgot that the monster was still there. A strong hand reached out from below him and snagged his throat. Aoi was dragged down to the ground as everything began to swirl around him.

"I surrender." The man whispered hoarsely.

"**Rejected.**" The demon hissed back. A cruel glow lit in his eyes as he pinned Aoi down to the ground. The blood that was rushing into his throat began to clog his breath as he tried to force the air into his lungs. His hands weakly tried to pry off the hands around his throat only to find the fingers grip tighter around him. The chakra that glowed around his hands began to burn Aoi's flesh and the scent of burning skin met his nose.

"**STOP IT**!" Kei dropped her kunai and ran over to the pair on the ground. What was she supposed to do? She had never seen anyone become like this. She reached out to touch the boy only to recoil back as the chakra burnt her. She couldn't even touch him like this and he didn't even seem to be answering her calls.

Even if Aoi had tried to kill them, they couldn't fall to his level. He still had a chance to survive and it was rapidly being drained away by Naruto. She flipped open her pouch and drew out a senbon. Her mind raced as she recalled the nerve endings around the neck before plunging the metal down into Naruto, promptly knocking him unconscious.

The clouds of chakra floated away into the air as the blonde slumped forward on top of his adversary. Every minute counted now. Kei hurried pushed the boy off of Aoi and tried to sit Aoi up. A moment later she dropped him back onto the ground. Empty eyes stared back up at her.

She shakily stood up from the ground and backed away from the two forms on the ground. Her breathing accelerated as she backed up against the rock face. She did the only thing she could think of. She screamed.

**Hey guys! I'm sorry it has been so long. ;( I'm back in action though! My beta is on vacation this week, so this was fairly freelance, but next week we'll be back up and running! I'm going to try and update weekly now so you can look to see me around more often than I have been. (; **

**Also for all the guest reviews: If it is possible to name yourselves things other than guest it would be helpful. xD I want to respond to the anonymous reviews here, but you all...have the same name... /sweatdrop**

**Guest 1: Poor Team Tsume! D: I'm beginning to feel cruel now! Thanks so much for reviewing the story! ;D**

**Guest 2: Don't worry about having problems with contact. xD It's still great seeing you around! Hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

**Guest 3: I'm really glad you enjoy it! I'm trying to make it super realistic by basing it off of some of my friends. :P They'd be shocked if they found out I did that though. xD**

**Thanks to everyone for reading, alerting, favoriting, and reviewing Team Tsume! I'm honored that you guys continue to follow this work! :D**


	13. Brutality and Stupidity

I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its stupidity.  
**-Dwight D Eisenhower**

Chapter 12: Brutality and Stupidity

It was the scream that woke him up. Inoichi's blue eyes shot open and he tried to sit up, but that was when the pain struck him. Ah, he had been hurt hadn't he? His most recent memories raced through his mind and then he realized: he had never defeated Aoi. The scream was from a girl. Kei!

Inoichi ignored the pain as he hurried up from his position on the ground. His peripherals caught sight of Shikamaru lying against the wall. The boy was in a rough shape, but he was breathing and didn't appear to be in any immediate danger. Inoichi stared straight ahead to where Kei was huddled on the ground with her hands over her mouth.

Just over the rocks, his gaze caught the cryptic sight of unmoving legs and a pool of red, blood. Naruto? Inoichi broke out into a hurried scramble as he climbed over the boulders that were blocking the cave entrance. His worst fears were not confirmed thank goodness, but instead he saw something truly awful.

Naruto was collapsed over Aoi, but his hand was still knotted around the dead man's throat. Just under the boy's hand, Inoichi could see the telltale brown scorch marks from chakra burns. "Don't tell me... Oh no..." The boy had gone into a Kyuubi form. Shoot, Sarutobi had even warned him about this! He had been bullheaded enough to think that he'd be able to stop the boy if the time came, but he hadn't even imagined being incapacitated at the time. Aoi had died for his mistakes.

The unconscious twelve year old had a steel senbon protruding from his neck, obviously the work of the shocked girl. He slowed himself into a crouch and knelt down beside Kei and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Shh... It'll be alright. Let's just get you over to the house, hmm? Satoya-san will be waiting for us with news of her husband I think."

Kei made no response and instead just sat there quivering with her eyes clamped shut. She didn't think she could bring herself to speak because the effort would prove too much for her stomach. Instead she gave a weak nod and let herself be pulled up from the ground. She wavered on her feet as she stood, but regained her balance and barely choked out, "Help Shikamaru. I'll be fine."

She bit out the words quickly before closing her mouth again. The words were muffled under her hand, but Inoichi got the message and gave a kind nod. He was secretly in a furious panic, but he couldn't just show worry to his students. They needed a strong hand right now.

He gave Kei a comforting squeeze before turning back to Naruto. He quickly slid the senbon out of the boy's neck and paused for a moment before smoothing out the boy's clenched fingers so he wouldn't be choking a dead man. He hauled Naruto off the corpse and dropped him by the rock face before turning back to the boulders that surrounded the entrance. Naruto didn't look like he was in immediate danger and Inoichi had seen in the file that the Kyuubi could help with the rest.

He climbed back into the cave and dropped down to the dusty ground. The faint evening light filtered into the space and cast a shadow over Shikamaru. Shikamaru wheezed in and out as he leaned against the rock. All of the jutsu had been a really bad idea and he was sorely regretting it now. He only had to attach himself onto one shadow and it was stupid to attempt two.

His eyes dropped as he stared weakly at the ground. His brain was a swirling mess. He couldn't think straight and he darn well couldn't see straight. A mix of colors met his vision as everything became a huge moving mass. A bit of red met his eyes and Shikamaru narrowed his eyes slightly. Why was there red there? A hand shook him slightly and all Shikamaru could tell was that he was being moved. He wasn't quite sure who was moving him though. It wasn't Kei, she hadn't been wearing red.

Perhaps it was Inoichi - Shikamaru had seen him dressed in his red outfit a while ago. A faint echo met his ears and Shikamaru got the feeling that someone was talking to him. He opened his mouth to explain that he couldn't understand, but no voice came out. He was just too weak. His mouth closed again. The black haired boy bobbed back and forth a few more timed before secure arms wrapped around him and pulled him up.

Shikamaru lurched back in the arms and was limply carried out into the sunlight. The sudden change in light blinded him for a moment as he shut his eyes. Now that he thought about it, he was really tired. Perhaps he should sleep. Yes, he had always liked resting anyways. "Don't fall asleep on me, Shikamaru-kun! Keep your eyes open!" The words came much closer now.

His eyes silently drifted back open and he looked up into his sensei's face. "Ino...ichi-sensei." Shikamaru breathed out wearily. He was just so tired. Why couldn't he sleep like he always did? Before he had said he slept to conserve energy, but now he had to regain it.

"Just stay awake until we reach Satoya-san. She'll fix you up a bit and then we'll see about getting you to sleep, alright?" Worry was laced through Inoichi's voice. He didn't like the way Shikamaru was drooping. The boy had used more energy than he had and it didn't take a medic nin to know the boy was almost out of his reserves. Ninjas could die from running out of chakra. Shikamaru was too young and too promising for that to happen and it most certainly wouldn't happen on Inoichi's watch!

Kei had reached the house before the duo and was just being let in as Inoichi came up with Shikamaru in his arms. "Satoya-san, do you have a first aid kit?" Inoichi breathed out hurriedly. The woman was standing horrified in the doorway, but the words snapped her back to the present.

Noriko nodded and flung the door open before scurrying away. Inoichi forced his way past Kei and looked around the small room. Sometimes he cursed small houses because they never had couches. "Upstairs!" Inoichi called out and headed over to the stairs. His back screamed at him as he heaved his way up the stairs. He wasn't as young as he used to be. This reminded him of why he had quit for Torture and Interrogation all of those years ago. He wasn't nearly as fit as he used to be.

He lugged the barely conscious boy up the stairs with Kei wobbling behind. His hand gripped the railing tightly as he stopped mid-flight for breath. Inoichi steadied himself and finished the trip up the stairs before heading over to the wall where he had previously rolled out the cots. He was thankful now that he had taken the time to set everything up earlier.

He dropped onto one knee and laid Shikamaru down on the cot. "Don't fall asleep yet, Shikamaru-kun. Satoya-san will be right back with the first aid kit. Let me treat you first before you pass out." Inoichi's blue eyes glinted with worry. He noticed Kei finally crawl her way up the stairs. A hazy look was in her eyes as she dropped down on the cot near Shikamaru.

It was then he remembered that his genin were a trio. He still had to get Naruto! He bit his lip. "Kei-chan, I'm sorry to ask this of you, but can you try and clean Shikamaru's injuries when Satoya-san comes? I need to fetch Naruto-kun." A terrified look entered Kei's eyes at the sound of Naruto's name, but she nodded anyways.

Inoichi frowned slightly at the response, but shook his head. He couldn't blame Kei much. Naruto had his hand around Aoi's neck and it was obvious what had transpired while he was unconscious. He wobbled up from the ground and walked past Noriko as she came rushing up the stairs. Inoichi looked back over his shoulder to see the woman bending over beside Shikamaru. Clearly the two of them would be able to help fix the boy up a little bit.

The jounin hobbled down the stairs and towards the open door. As he exited he heard the sound of shuffling feet to the side. Inoichi, still wary after the attack, whirled around to see two men coming towards him. The younger of the pair stepped forward and said, "My name is Ibu Sadao and this is Sanjo Yori. We were two of the miners that got trapped under. The blonde haired boy got us out so we want to be able to return the favor. What do you want us to do?"

Inoichi sighed in relief. He looked at the young man with a scrutinizing eye. The red head didn't look as if he'd injured himself too badly. He was layered thickly in black dust, but there was no blood on him. Yori was tall and strong and didn't seem to be as tired as his companion. They would definitely make his job easier.

"Ibu-san, Sanjo-san, my team got injured during the fight and I need to take care of them. Some boulders fell in front of the mine, but I'm not sure how far the damage goes. Nor do I know if all of the miners got out. Can you make sure everyone is safe?" Sadao nodded his head in the affirmative and tapped Yori on the arm before silently waving towards the mines.

"We'll get the rest out. You've already done enough for us." Ibu never said the words, but Inoichi could hear the thanks in his voice. Inoichi could only wish that he could apologize for ever causing all the trouble in the first place.

"Thank you." Inoichi smiled weakly as the two men broke off into a run towards the mines. There wouldn't be any time to waste in a situation as delicate as this.

The man slowly followed after the two. He watched as they climbed quickly through the gap between the rocks. They disappeared from his view and Inoichi turned his attention to the two bodies outside of the cavern.

He walked up to the unconscious boy and hauled him up from the ground. "They make kids out of different stuff these days." Inoichi said with a wince. He hunched down so Naruto would fall over his shoulder and stood up. The blonde boy dangled over Inoichi's shoulder limply and for once, Inoichi was glad that he was unconscious. The boy would need as much sleep as possible if he was to deal with waking up.

Inoichi cast a look to the side at Aoi's corpse. He had grown used to the sight after all these years, but Naruto was early to have his first kill. Inoichi personally didn't have his until he hit 16 after he had become a chuunin. Inoichi shook his head despairingly. He didn't look forward to when the boy woke up. There would be a lot of reconciling and Inoichi was sure it would not be pretty.

He brought the boy back to Masaki's house and climbed up the stairs to where the rest of his genin were. Shikamaru had finally been allowed to rest and was dozing peacefully on his cot while Kei hovered near. The girl was shaking violently and seemed to be on the edge. Inoichi remembered that she disliked participating in the taijutsu exercises and this was probably why. She was afraid of death and injuring people.

Inoichi dropped Naruto down on one of the empty cots and watched Kei carefully as her golden eyes tracked Naruto's every movement. It looked like she would be the first one that he'd have to talk to. Inoichi rolled Naruto onto his back so he could sleep soundly before he moved to sit by Kei.

The jounin sat silently to see if Kei would be the one to begin the conversation, but was met only with silence as Kei continued to stare at the unconscious form. Inoichi sighed and said, "Kei-chan, do you want to talk about it? When I was a young boy it helped me after the first incident like this happened." Inoichi carefully worked his way around using the word kill. It was enough that she saw it, but he was certain that if he talked explicitly on the matter that she would get even worse.

"**It**scared me." Kei replied quietly. "It wasn't Naruto-san. I know it wasn't. It was the Kyuubi wasn't it?" Inoichi froze at the answer. He had expected that he would need to explain the Kyuubi to his team, but never did he think they would discern it on their own. It just goes to show this was what you get when you try to make an information gathering team.

"Yes, Kei-chan. It was. Don't confuse the Kyuubi for being Naruto-kun. It's already enough that he had to live with the demon inside of him. Seeing his friends turn away from him would hurt him even more." Inoichi said comfortingly.

"It spoke, you know. That was the scariest thing about it. Its strength could have only been from the Kyuubi, but a part of me felt the emotions were still from Naruto-san. It only went after Rokusho-san after it saw what he did to you and Shikamaru." Kei wrapped her arms around her knees and brought them to her chest. She hid her face in her knees as Inoichi contemplated her words.

No one really knew how the Kyuubi thought. Was the Kyuubi an extension of Naruto's will or was it a separate entity on its own? None of the other nations had been very willing to share information and Kushina had never gone out of control since she was older when she was sealed. Inoichi bit his lip. From how Kei described it, the Kyuubi had a will, but it felt things that the real Naruto also would have felt. It would make it much easier to confuse the two if they thought alike.

"That may be true, Kei-chan, but when Naruto-kun awakes, please try to comfort him. He will blame himself for this ever occurring and he needs strong people by him at that time." Inoichi said softly, but he was cut off by a harsh glare from Kei.

"I know that Naruto-san needs help, but would it hurt to think about the others in this situation? Both Shikamaru and I were conscious at the time and we watched as Naruto-san murdered someone! We're only twelve, Inoichi-sensei. Coming to terms with something like this doesn't happen at a moment's notice. I'm still trying to get used to the thought that Rokusho-san is dead and that there is a monster inside of my friend." Kei ranted, her voice nearing hysterical at the end.

"Before I start worrying about how I should act in front of others, I need to take care of my own thoughts." Kei ended with a sigh. She buried her head back in her knees and let out an audible moan.

Inoichi frowned and wrapped an arm around Kei and hugged her quietly. He'd forgotten about how all of his other genin would respond to this. They were all going to be torn apart by this and only heaven would know how it would all turn out. He looked over to Naruto to see that the boy's blue eyes were already open.

Naruto stared at the ceiling with a dead look in his eyes. The Kyuubi takeover was always a conscious thing. It was weird to watch his own body act, but not being able to control any of it. It may have been weird, but it was purely disgusting to see himself kill someone. His right hand flexed unconsciously. He could still feel Aoi's flesh under his fingers and it made him feel ill. The worst thing was that under the bloodlust craze he could distinctly remember enjoying it.

It was, he could say, fun. Fun was supposed to be running around and playing tag on the playground. Fun was not watching the life fade out of someone's eyes. It made Naruto feel warped. The bruises from the fight with Aoi didn't seem to matter anymore. The aches all over his body felt dulled as he stared at the wooden ceiling. All he could feel was sadness.

"Naruto-kun? Are you awake?" Naruto heard Inoichi's voice from the corner of his consciousness and he turned his head to look at his sensei. When he saw Kei looking at him from beside Inoichi, he immediately turned away to look at the opposite wall. Kei had seen him like that. She probably wanted nothing to do with him anymore. Accursed Kyuubi.

"It's alright, Naruto-san. Just... Give it time." Kei's quiet words met his ears, but Naruto could tell they were filled with doubt. "I just need to collect myself. I know that wasn't you so don't be sad." Naruto ran his tongue over his broken lip in thought. She said it would be alright, but people rarely meant what they said and it still didn't get rid of the guilt in his heart.

"I'm sorry, Kei-chan." Naruto wanted to say sorry to one other person, but that person would never be able to hear him. He knew it was stupid because Aoi was going to kill them, but Naruto couldn't help feeling this way. The man had already surrendered to them. He had been in need of immediate medical assistance. There was no way Aoi could have been a threat to them while he was like that, but still Naruto had killed him.

Deep in the back of his mind, Naruto knew that Aoi would have been sentenced to death anyways. Not only had Aoi betrayed Konoha and stolen an artifact, but he had attacked Konoha ninja whilst invading Konoha territory. There was no way he would get away scot-free, but it didn't make Naruto feel any less guilty. Death by trial was so different than death by strangulation.

**Stupid boy, if he was going to die anyways you just saved him the trouble of waiting. Stop sulking like a brat and celebrate your first kill. It's a momentous occasion after all.**The Kyuubi hissed inside of his mind. Naruto clamped his eyes shut and gritted his teeth. He wouldn't give in to the demon, he definitely wouldn't.

**Oh come now. You aren't telling me that you regret my intervention? Without me your friends would have all died! You should be on your knees thanking me!**The Kyuubi growled out in irritation. Naruto didn't know what to say to that. It was true; Kei and Shikamaru surely would have died unless Kyuubi had intervened. But Naruto still couldn't believe that what the Kyuubi did was good. He had still killed a man, no; Naruto and the Kyuubi killed the man.

"Naruto-kun, just get some more rest. You're still tired from the ordeal. Kei-chan, you should do the same, alright?" Inoichi cut through Naruto's thoughts and smiled weakly. His penetrating blue eyes stared at Naruto for a moment. Naruto had been twitching and going in-between frowning and smirking. It was an unnatural thing and Inoichi was sure it was the demon's fault.

Naruto looked up to Inoichi and gave a small bob of his head in assent before lying his head back down on the ground. "Forget about everything and just let yourself sleep. It will do you good." Inoichi soothed as he patted Naruto softly on the head. No matter what Naruto would do, he would always be just a child in Inoichi's eyes. The jounin would always seem him as the boy that had been in for countless psych exams and always brought a smile to the most hardened T&I member's face. Not even this would change that.

The moment for the first kill had come early, but it was expected. Things always changed during missions and Inoichi had thought he would be ready for it when the time came, but it was still as sudden as ever. Inoichi frowned slightly. Ino was the same age as these three. No doubt she would see her first death soon if not kill on her own. Inoichi bit his lip. It was still too young.

A few minutes later, a soft knock on wood direct Inoichi's attention to the stairs. He quietly got up and walked away from the three sleeping genin. They all looked so peaceful now. It was a peace that would end when they awoke one more.

Inoichi snuck away from the cots and walked down the stairs where Masaki and Noriko were waiting silently. Inoichi nodded a greeting as he made his way down the steps. Masaki pointed to the table before walking over to take his own seat at the table.

"We wanted to thank you for what you did today." Masaki began. "We know this wasn't a part of your mission and you weren't required to do this for us. We can't repay you immediately, but we can negotiate a settlement with your Hokage for payment over time." Masaki nodded solemnly before looking back up towards Inoichi. "This is the best we can do since we have to repair the mine and make sure it is stable before we can send money elsewhere. I am sure you understand."

"I do, Satoya-san. That will be perfectly acceptable, but please do not feel burdened in any way to rush the second payment. It is an extra-charge and it will be dealt with accordingly. I'm sure the Hokage will open correspondence with you as soon as possible. We need not worry about it yet though. We have yet to complete the mission we were originally assigned here for though. Would you mind if my team rests for a few days longer to recuperate from their injuries?" Inoichi asked pleasantly. Talking to clients about money was about as delicate as handing over a declaration of war. Act too nice and they think you're a sucker. Act too mean and they'll attack faster than the blink of an eye. Interrogation was ever so much simpler.

"We also want to thank your team for what they did. I think it's incredible what they did, especially for just being children." Noriko added in with a soft smile. She put a hand on her husband's shoulder and said, "I feel that I can speak for the women of the village when I say we are eternally grateful for their work in bringing back our men safely."

Inoichi twitched his lips upwards and replied, "I'm sure they will be glad to hear it." _Well, I guess they solved my test after all._

**Ha! I bet you all forgot about Inoichi's secondary test didn't you? (; I'm glad you're all enjoying this fic! I'm going to try and update once a week on Saturdays at 10pm, but it depends on how my life is and how my beta's life is. At most, I'll be a day late at Sunday at 10pm. I'll definitely be here though! This will begin next week. (:**

**Special thanks to Pokepikachu1 for betaing me and to RamenKnight for the PM! It helped me come up with some important plot concepts for later in the story so it is greatly appreciated!**

**Like it? Hate it? Review and tell me what you think! (:**

**p.s. I'm so sorry guys! This has been giving me heartburn because it just won't load! I'm sorry if you thought it updated and it didn't because I've tried nearly 4 times so far to no avail. Forgive me!**


	14. Taking a Trip

A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike. And all plans, safeguards, policing, and coercion are fruitless. We find that after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us.  
**-John Steinbeck**

Chapter 13: Taking a Trip

Shikamaru recovered almost two days later. When he awoke, he found that things had significantly changed in the team dynamics. While Kei had always been rather quiet, she was now was surrounded by a cold aura. It was the difference between blending into the background and being passive-aggressive. She tended to her teammate in silence, using the first aid kit that Noriko had let her borrow.

It was the way her eyes had that faraway look that made Shikamaru worry. However, when he asked her what was wrong, all she said was that 'it was nothing'. It obviously was something if she was worrying about it, but Shikamaru knew he would get no more from her yet. Instead he lay on the cot and let her tend to him.

Their blonde teammate had changed as well during the two days Shikamaru was unconscious. Occasionally he had come up to visit Shikamaru while he was ill, but he rarely stayed unless Kei was gone from the room. The two had obviously had a fight of some sort, but Shikamaru was still unable to figure out what had happened. Neither of them would give him any details and when he asked Inoichi, he had said to ask his teammates. It all lead around in circles and was a complete mess.

Shikamaru stared up at the rickety ceiling from his place on the cot. Despite having woken up from the chakra deprivation, he was still barely functional. His breathing was only slightly labored now which was a relief considering everything he had gone through. It was still hard lying flat on his back, but when he rested on his side it got easier.

Shikamaru rolled onto his left shoulder and stared down at the staircase. Now was one of the few moments that he was left alone to think. The rest of his team had been out and about helping clear up the mines since it was mostly their fault anyways. Aoi never would have come if not for them. Speaking of Aoi, Shikamaru was still left in the dark as to what happened. Inoichi had cryptically told him that Aoi was no longer a problem, but had given no details. Shikamaru hated being left in the dark like this. He remembered that Inoichi had told him that knowledge is power. He felt downright weak being without knowledge.

Shikamaru flexed his hand out in front of him. He needed to get better quickly. That way he could at least force someone to tell him what was going on. Like this, all he could do was passively sit and wait for time to fly by. He had always believed in 'conserving energy' or so he liked to call it, but currently there was no outlet for him to expend energy. It was the only time he considered relaxing to be boring.

"Right, right. I'm going to go check on Shikamaru." Kei's voice echoed up the stairs as she made her way up. As she appeared through the gap, Shikamaru knew once again she was in a foul mood. That was all she seemed to be in these days. He wanted to know why, but no one was giving him any hints to piece together!

"You alright?" He asked softly as she neared. Kei dropped down by his side and rested her hands on her fists. She shook her head from side to side gloomily as she dunked a small gray cloth inside of a bowl of water. Shikamaru watched quietly as she wrung the water out before dabbing his head with it. "I'm not that sick you know."

"I know that." Kei replied low. "Just stay here for now... Please." Kei felt guilty for trying to force him to stay up here, but currently he was her only excuse to get away from Inoichi and Naruto. Both of them left her alone when she went up to take care of him, and once Shikamaru was well there would be no reason for her to leave. Despite saying that it would just take some time, Kei was beginning to wonder if she would ever get over it.

Whenever she saw Naruto pick up a cup and wrap his hand around it, Kei always saw the cup as Aoi's throat. Desensitization had been done at the academy, but that was of blood and various injuries like that. It hadn't been slicing his artery that scared her, but the fact that Aoi suffocated on his own blood. She could vividly remember the terror that was coming off the man in waves before he died. He was pleading with her to do something, but she had been too slow. Naruto obviously wasn't able to control himself, but was it her indecision that ended up killing the man?

"Can I talk to you about something?" She needed another opinion. Well, it wasn't the opinion that she wanted so much as she wanted someone to say that it wasn't her fault. She didn't want it to be her fault, but she had thought a lot about it over the past few days. She knew Naruto wasn't responsible for the Kyuubi and it would be unfair to blame him for it, but seeing Naruto reminded her of her mistake. She had been too slow in responding and she had let a man die. Naruto was a symbol of her failure.

"Of course. It's not as if I'll be moving anywhere." Shikamaru said with a small smirk on his face.

"I don't know how much of this you know, but... Rokusho-san is dead." Shikamaru's smirk fell away instantly. Why had no one told him this? Pieces of the puzzle were slowly beginning to come together. Aoi's death was the part that he had been missing. Aoi's death, the guilt on Kei's face, Naruto's reluctance to speak, Inoichi's awkwardness regarding his other students, they all came together to form an image. He could still remember Inoichi being unconscious when he fought against Aoi two days ago, so something had to have happened between the other genin. But what was it?

"I... I cut his external carotid artery, you know? I told him to surrender since he'd die within five minutes unless he received medical attention." Kei's voice quieted down into a whisper so Shikamaru had to strain to hear. "He did surrender, but Naruto-san, no... It wasn't Naruto..." Confliction entered her voice and Shikamaru's face fell into a frown. His mind wandered back to when he and Naruto had talked on the way to training all those days ago. They had never told Kei about it, but had she seen the Kyuubi?

Wait. Shikamaru's mind raced with the new information. The Kyuubi could surface within Naruto? Shikamaru had always considered Naruto to just be a container, but was he more of a contractor? Or was this more of the Kyuubi possessing Naruto and being able to surface when it wanted to?

"The being in Naruto," Kei resumed her talking hesitantly, "began suffocating Rokusho-san. And... Oh, Shikamaru, it was awful. Rokusho-san began suffocating on his own blood and I-I just didn't know what to do!" Her hand quivered over his forehead as she paused in her dabbing. "I told him to stop, but he – it – didn't! I had to knock him out with a senbon, but I was too slow..."

Shikamaru knew by her silence that Aoi had already died by the time she got him to stop. He reached up a hand to hold her shaking one. "Shikamaru, what if it's my fault?" His eyes narrowed at that. What did she mean by it was her fault? "If I hadn't hesitated then maybe Rokusho-san would have lived! It's not my fault is it? I tried to do something, but what if I was quicker? If I was just a little bit faster then maybe he would have lived."

So this was the cause behind her guilt. "It's not your fault, Kei. It's not the fault of Naruto-san either. You both did what you had to so you could protect yourselves. The one who really caused all the trouble is the Kyuubi." Kei flinched away at the name. "Don't dwell on it, Kei. Believe me when I say that it is not your fault nor is the fault of Naruto-san. Just let it to rest now. It'll all be alright."

Kei's hand clenched and droplets of water dripped down onto Shikamaru's face. She used her other hand to cover her eyes as she tried to stop the tears from coming out. "Just cry. You've been holding back too long. It's ok." And so she cried.

-TSUME-

Naruto sighed as he dangled his legs over the side of the porch. "They keep on telling me to give it time, but it's just so hard waiting..." **I don't see why you still worry about listening to what they say. If you're going to waste time complaining about it, then do something! **Naruto frowned at the voice in his head. It had been fairly silent for years now, but ever since that event two days ago it had become vocal once more. Naruto just wanted to shut it back up in whatever cage it came from for all the trouble it had caused him.

**That's not polite, boy,** the Kyuubi snarked back. Naruto could just imagine the demon rolling his eyes at him. Naruto rubbed his hands against his forehead in irritation. With any luck the demon would leave him alone soon. Had he done something in a past life that made him deserve having the demon inside of him? He couldn't have been more than a few hours old when the demon was sealed into him. There were no crimes to justify his being sealed, right? Or was his sin being born?

Was that the reason why all the civilians hated him? He had always assumed it was the Kyuubi's fault, but was there another reason that he was loathed? **Stop your wining, boy. I may invoke some... negative memories among the populace, but get over yourself already.** "Get out! Get out! GET OUT!" Naruto yelled angrily at the Kyuubi. He wanted it to all be the Kyuubi's fault. Perhaps it was unfair to be blaming the creature, but it was too much to blame himself.

The Kyuubi was the one that killed Aoi, right? It wasn't him. It wasn't... **I'm not demon in the way you speak of it, boy. **The Kyuubi cut into his thoughts once more with what seemed to be exasperation in his voice. **I don't possess people and force them to do unspeakable crimes. I have never forced you to do anything, even killing that man. You killed the man to make him stop hurting your friends and I was the tool used to stop him. Nothing more and nothing less.**

"No... It's not my fault." Naruto mumbled as he clutched his head. He didn't want to face the fact that he'd killed a man who had already surrendered. It was so much simpler if he could blame someone else, but all the reasons stated that fault was rooted in him.

"Naruto-kun? Is something wrong?" Naruto turned his head up to see Inoichi looked at him with concern evident in his eyes. Inoichi frowned as he saw the despair in the genin's eyes. "What's not your fault? Tell me." Inoichi took a seat next to Naruto and gave him a small sidehug.

"Rokusho-san...I should have shown more restraint... I killed him. I still can't get over that fact." Naruto hung his head low as he stared at the wood beneath him.

"Naruto-kun, I hate to say it, but this time would have come eventually. You're a ninja. We fight and, unfortunately, we have to kill people. The first kill is always the worst. Your time came early, much too early, but don't let it weigh down on you. You saved Kei-chan, Shikamaru-kun, and me. Without you, we probably wouldn't have survived. We owe you our lives, Naruto-kun." Inoichi soothed the boy as he gave a comforting smile. He had been watching his genin hide all their insecurities to themselves and it had saddened him. He may have been a part of T&I, but that didn't mean he could just force his genin to expose themselves. They had to reveal the information on their own.

"But he had surrendered!" Naruto exclaimed. "I knew that death would come along with the job, but he surrendered, Inoichi-sensei! He might have been hanged once we reached Konoha again, I don't know. But what I do know is that I killed him without trial and I killed him while he was in critical condition after he had surrendered. There's no justification for what I did..."

Inoichi inhaled sharply thought of what to say. What Naruto was saying was entirely true, but how could he make the boy feel better? "Naruto-kun, while that may be true, remember that he was the one who brought this upon himself. He purposefully caused an earthquake that killed innocent civilians and attacked us with the intent to kill. Being a ninja means you save lives by destroying lives. Remember this, Naruto-kun, and it will serve you well. I'm sorry that this had to happen to you, but take it and burn it to your memory. Emotion isn't something to scorn or to hate because it brings pain. It means you're human, not a monster."

Naruto twitched at the last sentence. He... He wasn't a monster. Those were the words that he had been waiting to hear for so long. He laughed weakly and looked up towards Inoichi. "Thank you, Inoichi-sensei. Thank you so much." He pulled forward and hugged Inoichi tightly as he buried his head into his mentor's coal covered coat.

"I'm your sensei. I'll always be here for you, Naruto-kun."

-TSUME-

"The shipment has been loaded up onto the carts. We're ready whenever you are." Masaki huffed out later that night. Noriko bustled around the kitchen making dinner while the rest of them sat around the dinner table. "We have room enough if you need to store Nara-san up there." He added a few moments later.

Shikamaru had managed to make it down the stairs for the first time and was now propped up in his chair by Naruto and Kei who scooted near to him. It was obvious that he wasn't quite prepared to walk for a few miles quite yet.

"That would be very appreciated, Satoya-san." Inoichi said with a pleasant smile. "We can get him up tomorrow just a bit before dawn and then move out when the sun rises. I would like to make the most of the sunlight. It should take three days to travel if we spend a good eight or nine hours on the road. If we start early on the first day then we may arrive before nightfall on the last."

"That would work well with us." Masaki said with a solemn nod. "We have a caravan of five oxen-driven carts. We can show you the layout and the path we plan to take if you think it would help." He rapped his fingers against the table as he thought. Naruto thought it was a rather strange habit, but he wasn't one to judge that kind of thing.

"If we could, that would be very helpful." Inoichi replied amiably. He looked over towards the trio with a small smile. All three of them looked incredibly tired. Kei and Naruto had spent the past few days clearing out the mines. Kei almost regretted throwing that explosives tag over the three hours she took to clean it all up.

"Good, good. Ah, thanks Noriko." Noriko placed a bowl of soup in front of her husband before shuffling off to get bowls for the other guests. Soon all of them were seated around the slightly cramped table. They silently got through the meal before thanking the Satoya's for their hospitality.

Kei and Naruto helped shuffle Shikamaru up the steps, leaving Inoichi alone with the Satoyas. "You sure that those three don't need more time?" Noriko asked worriedly as she watched the trio head to rest. "It's been an awfully busy week for them."

Inoichi shook his head and said, "We're shinobi, ma'am. You don't have to worry. We'll be fine."

Noriko sighed and said, "You may look at those children and see shinobi. However, I still look at them and see, well, children. They can do incredible things, certainly more than I could ever do, but they're still before their teens. They're still delicate, Yamanaka-san. I can't help but worry. It's the mother in me."

Inoichi recalled his own daughter and a forlorn expression crossed his face as he said, "I know what you mean."

-TSUME-

"Shikamaru-kun, Kei-chan, Naruto-kun, wake up." Inoichi roused up the three genin while shaking them slightly. The sun was just beginning to creep over the hillside and it was time for them to move.

"Wha? Inoichi-sensei, it's too early..." Naruto grumbled before covering his head with his arm to shut out the noise. It couldn't have been a minute later than six am. No normal human would be up at that kind of hour.

Inoichi sighed before reaching his arms under Naruto, and rolling him off his cot. "Ow!" The boy exclaimed as he began rolling across the floor. "That hurt!"

"Apparently that was what you needed to wake up." Inoichi said with a tired smile. Just because he was the one to wake them up didn't mean that he wasn't tired as well. The dark circles under his eyes told that much. "Kei-chan, Shikamaru-kun, I do hope you'll be easier to wake up."

"We're up," Shikamaru said with a grumble. He rubbed his eyes before looking over towards Inoichi. "As ready as we'll ever be." He sighed as he tried to blink away the sleep. It didn't seem to be working that well in all honesty.

"Come on, Shikamaru-kun. Satoya-san kindly offered to let you ride on one of the carts until you're well enough to walk on your own. Do you think you can walk down to the wagon?" Inoichi said gently. He put a hand on Shikamaru's shoulder and looked the boy over with a scrutinizing eye. It had only been yesterday that Shikamaru had made it down the stairs. He probably wouldn't be up to much so early in the morning, but Inoichi didn't want to patronize or baby him. He was a ninja after all.

"I'll get there," Shikamaru said, sitting up. He stretched out his arms before pushing himself up from the ground. He wobbled around for a moment before stabilizing himself. "Lead the way then."

Kei hurried around him and grabbed both her pack and his and slung them over her shoulder. She then rushed over to his side and helped to guide him down the stairs with Naruto scrambling up to join the two on the trip down. Inoichi watched as his genin moved together with a small smile on his face. He had been worried that the event with the Kyuubi would tear them apart, but it seemed as if they had worked out their difficulties.

"It seems like there is another formation on the rise eh, Shikaku, Chouza?"

* * *

**Hey everyone! Great news! This story just passed 30,000 hits and 200 subscribers! This never would have happened without your help so thank you so much for your continued support! (: In celebration I'm going to be adding an omake onto the next chapter. If you have any ideas review and tell me and I might just write it out for the next chapter!**

**In other news, last chapter had a lot of uploading problems. It is finally up now, but I just wanted to let you all know. I don't know why it glitched, but hopefully it won't happen again. Thank you RamenKnight for helping me solve the uploading problems!**

**Also thank you Pokepikachu1 for betaing this story for me!**


	15. Pain and Victory

I learned patience, perseverance, and dedication. Now I really know myself, and I know my voice. It's a voice of pain and victory.  
**-Anthony Hamilton**

Chapter 14: Pain and Victory

The wagon bumbled along the road as the party slowly made their way into town. Shikamaru leaned against the back of the pale frame of the cart and stared at the road behind him. He at least had some purpose as the rear guard - that was mercy. Being useless would have been much more depressing considering this was still his first outside mission.

The road moved beneath him as he curled his arms around his legs. They had just left earlier that morning and it still felt as if they had made no progress. The journey into town was to be long, a few days at the very least. However, that fact didn't make it any less boring for him. His eyes trailed over to the side of the road where Naruto walked alongside the wagon train.

Naruto had been delegated to protect the left side of the train while Kei took right. This left Inoichi to walk en point and keep an eye out for any danger.

The oxen dragged on slowly and occasionally lowed their disapproval at carrying such a heavy burden. As they bounced along the path, clouds of coal dust would puff up into the air much to Shikamaru's annoyance. He waved away another such cloud away before casting his eyes down the road once more. He blinked his eyes as he spotted a small speck on the horizon. The boy brought his hand up to shield his eyes from the sun and double check to make sure he saw something. The figure slowly grew larger and larger, and Shikamaru turned to shout to Naruto, "Naruto-san! Tell Inoichi-sensei there is someone incoming!"

Naruto turned to Shikamaru and gave him a salute before running to the front of the train. "Inoichi-sensei! Inoichi-sensei!" Naruto scurried up alongside his mentor and said, "Shikamaru-kun sees something! You should probably go check it out!"

Inoichi turned away from Masaki with an apologetic smile and said to Naruto, "I'll be right there. Naruto-kun, can you take my place at the front for me? I'll call you if it's an enemy," he added upon seeing Naruto's disappointed face. "I'm not going to leave you left out, you know." Inoichi smiled and patted Naruto on the head. This morning, he and Naruto talked as Kei helped Shikamaru board the wagon. Naruto was desperate to prove that he was more than just a killer and had asked Inoichi to put him on the front lines if a battle came up. Of course, Inoichi had accepted.

The blonde man ran quickly to the back of the wagon train and looked down the road. A shadowed figure was running quickly down the path. A frown creased Inoichi's face. It was too obvious to be a sneak attack. Perhaps it was a diversion for people hiding in the trees? Blue eyes searched the forest only to find the woods devoid of any living soul. That left the option of the person being a messenger. The person was obviously a shinobi by the way they were shunshining, but Inoichi couldn't say that they were familiar.

He knew that he couldn't break off from the caravan to meet the mysterious person. If it was meant to be a diversion then pulling him away from his genin would have been exactly what they wanted. Instead he slipped a kunai out of his side pouch and slid it up his sleeve. If they were an enemy then he would have to be ready in any case.

"Thank you for telling me about him, Shikamaru-kun. I'll keep an eye on him, but try to see if he had any comrades," Inoichi ordered serenely as he walked backwards. He couldn't afford to take his eyes off this follower for a moment. He acknowledged Shikamaru's acceptance with a silent nod, and he began to silently calculate the ninja's movements.

He couldn't be taller than 5'10 at the most and he certainly wasn't over 300 lbs. This meant Inoichi would probably be able to face him in a fair fight if it came right down to it. He watched as the ninja fumbled around for something in a waist pouch before pulling out a small book. The man hurriedly flipped through the pages until he appeared to find what he desired. The pale-skinned man held a hand over his head and flashed through a series of signs.

Tiger, snake, monkey, rat, this was ANBU sign language! Obviously the man wasn't ANBU if he required a book to use the language, but someone had clearly trusted him enough to give him the manual. Inoichi's mind automatically decoded the signals as the man ran through them: Hand-Delivered message of immediate importance. Did the Hokage want to speak to him? Inoichi's eyes narrowed as he thought about the words. Hand-delivered messages were only for A and S class letters. Why would the Hokage send one while he was out with his genin?

"Shikamaru-kun, this man is an ally. You need not worry about him. I will go talk to him, but stay on guard." Inoichi's sharp eyes caught how the man had slowed his speed so he was merely keeping pace with the caravan. He didn't want others to overhear this conversation.

Shikamaru hummed a reply before curling back up in a ball. Inoichi took this as a yes and shunshined towards the ninja. As he came closer he realized that he knew the man. "Kamizuki-san, what is it?" Izumo puffed his hair out of his face before stopping on the ground.

"Hokage-sama asked me to deliver this to you. He said it was of the utmost importance that I get it to you and that you should be careful for listening ears." The brown haired man flipped open his side pack and pulled out a Manila envelope. He handed the folder over the Inoichi and said, "It's concerning your secondary mission. He said you would know what that meant."

Indeed, Inoichi did. Had something happened in the village in his absence? If the Hokage was sending him a message about his job to train Team Tsume as spies then it couldn't possibly be good. "Thank you, Kamizuki-san. Tell Hokage-sama that I will be back in a week's time at the very latest."

Izumo read into the silent dismissal and gave a short bow. "Right then. I'll head back to guard duty now." He waved to Inoichi before turning around and shunshining away. Inoichi watched the chuunin leave before looking at the folder. He had better open it before returning to the caravan.

He cast a look over his shoulder to see the train still within eyesight and bent the metal prongs back into place. He pulled the flap open and slid the papers out onto his palm. Inoichi stuffed the empty envelope in his pants' waist and began looking over the notes.

_Dear Yamanaka Inoichi,_

_Since you have left Konohagakure, something of the gravest nature has happened. I will reference to the conversation we shared in my office a few months previous, and I trust you will use that knowledge to decipher what I mean._

_They are closing in around me, trying to suffocate me and those close to me. It is imperative that the mission I sent you on is completed with much haste. There are things I must know, and time is of the essence. I do not know how much time there is left. If the mission is only partially completed, it will have to do. We cannot wait for too much time to tick by._

_These many years I have trusted you with my most important secrets. I know I can trust you to commit yourself to this mission. Consequently, Yamanaka-san, please move with haste. The date of the exams is nearing, and I wish to consult you over it._

_The Hokage of Konohagakure,  
Sarutobi Hiruzen_

Inoichi frowned as he scanned over the letter. The council was beginning to move so early? Inoichi never would have thought they would try to plan a coup. Where would they get the political force they needed to...? Then the thought struck him. The exams. The chuunin exams. The chuunin exams were being held in Konoha this year. All of the military villages would be there with some of their strongest genin. Hired assassins could masquerade as body guards of high profile daimyo and kage. The genin could be faked and replaced with chuunin. There was no limit to ways that they could sneak in allies.

Inoichi bit his thumb as he thought over the letter. Would his genin be ready to take on the mission so early? He had expected them to have a few years at the very least before they had to go to compete. This was just too soon. He looked to where the wagon train was pulling away into the distance and sauntered towards it. It wasn't fast enough so he would catch up, but fast enough so that he wouldn't be left behind. He needed time to think about this. He'd have to break it to his team what they were truly designed for, and he wasn't sure that they would like it. No one would like to hear that they were brought together to spy on their own friends and family.

Inoichi sighed and shook his head. Hopefully, they would accept it. They always took everything in stride and, with any luck, this would be much of the same. Even if they accepted it, would they be able to handle it? They were just children right now, and they would be up against professional spies. They weren't ready, but the Hokage had given explicit orders for their deployment. Inoichi would have to obey that command.

Inoichi ran a hand through his long hair before looking back up towards the train. Shikamaru was still sitting in the back and was looking at Inoichi with interest. Inoichi wondered when he should tell them. He could do it now and give them time to think it over or he could tell them once they reached Konohagakure. Either way, he was sure a blowout would occur. Perhaps it was better to get it over quickly, but it could mean jeopardizing a mission. In Shikamaru's words: how troublesome.

He flipped through the other papers that were contained in the envelope and found a list of dignitaries that would be gracing the exams. Konoha, despite trying to create peace between all the nations, had the most tumultuous relations with the surrounding countries. Recently they had made peace with Sunagakure, but everyone knew that it was temporary at best. The Hokage and the Kazekage had been at ends with each year for decades now, and chuunin exams wouldn't change that.

He stared at the list of names and tried to recall what he knew about the people. If the council was going to try and throw a coup with the help of an enemy nation, then which one would it be? He obviously wasn't there to perform checks, but there were some countries that could be weeded out from the beginning. Amegakure was too involved in internal disputes to get itself involved in another war. Otogakure was a small state, but they had risen in notoriety after a string of S Class criminal captures. They could be suspicious.

Oh and Sunagakure, they were beyond suspicious at this point. Ever since the Kazekage had made a sub textual threat at the world meetings three years ago, Konoha had put him on a high risk list, despite being allies. Inoichi fought the temptation to immediately categorize Suna as being the enemy. He wasn't even there and couldn't make decisions.

The Kazekage, Inoichi was going to be sending his own genin to spy on the Kazekage's followers. The ruthless man had earned his place as one of the most disliked Kazekage ever after rumors came around that he had forced his children into his military. They hadn't wanted to become ninja and they didn't have to become ninja. Some had said he was waiting for his own children to die, but Inoichi knew that any father could never feel such a thing. Deep in their hearts, they would always worry for their children.

Inoichi sighed and shook his head to clear his thoughts. That wasn't the task at hand. He had to tell his genin what was going to happen. He trusted them enough to know they would not rebel. They had grown so fast, faster than he had any right to expect them too, but they would have to grow a little bit more.

He tucked the papers away in his waist pouch before shunshining up to the wagon. At Shikamaru's questioning gaze, he said, "It was just Kamizuki-san. He delivered a message to me which I will share to you all tonight."

-TSUME-

The wagon train pulled over for the night in an inlet on the side of the road. The oxen pulled the carts to form a semi-circle along the forest's edge while their masters pitched camp in the half moon. They lit fires to deter the creatures of the night. After they had all dined, the miners all eased off into sleep, leaving the ninja to themselves. Inoichi waved his students closer to the fire.

"You all heard of the messenger that I talked with earlier in the day, correct?" Inoichi questioned. At the nods he continued, "I received a letter from the Hokage about a mission that I had been tasked to. It's the reason why I was allowed to create my own team from the pool of students, and it is also why your team is different from all the others."

Naruto tilted his head to the side in curiosity. "Well? Are you going to tell us about it?"

"Yes, Naruto," Inoichi said with a kind smile. "I am. The story begins in the heart of Konohagakure. You all know of the council?"

Naruto's face fell into a dark frown as he heard the name. The council had marched against him these many years. The council members had often taken it upon themselves to make his life a living hell. He hoped he wouldn't have to do something like become an elite council slave team. He'd rather die to be perfectly honest.

"The Hokage has worried for a long time now about their actions. Actions in the commercial and residential districts don't require his authorization much like how deployment of ninja forces doesn't require their authorization. However, the council has been demanding power over the ninja corps. The Hokage has refused them this and they have been fighting for many years now," Inoichi said with a nod.

"He worries that soon they will not wait for him to grant them power, for that will never happen. A revolution is on the brink of happening." Shikamaru froze in shock. He knew that his father sat on the council, but he had never heard of anything like this. Was his father aware of the traitorous mumblings? Were any of the shinobi aware of them?

"That was why Team Tsume was brought together," Inoichi continued. "Old dogs like me have proven to be loyal to the Hokage for too many years. The council is on edge with us and it would be impossible to get near them. On the other hand, you,"

"Are fresh young genin. Ones that can be easily manipulated by people of power." Shikamaru cut in. His brain was already beginning to forge links between all the pieces of the puzzle. If Inoichi was telling the truth, then how far did the betrayal reach? What would it mean for Konoha? Coup de tat?

"That's unfortunately correct, Shikamaru-kun," Inoichi said with a sigh. "Not only that, but no one would expect a genin to have the skill set required to spy. I know what I am asking of you is difficult, but I must ask it. Are you willing to spy on your classmates, your neighbors, and your family to figure out where the council's grasp extends to? We do not know who is on our side and who is on theirs. Knowledge is power and right now we are weak. The enemy knows who are on their side, but we do not and it puts us at a distinct disadvantage." He looked at the trio with a cautious glance. His eyes trailed from Kei to Shikamaru to Naruto before flickering back to the fire. He let the genin stew in silence as the reality of the situation came crashing down.

Kei was stilled. She had often spent her time working about her parent's store, and she had heard things like "The shinobi are too reckless. What if they decided to rebel?" and "The shinobi are free to do whatever they want. It isn't fair.", but she had never thought about them before. Were these the beginnings of a civil war?

She bit her lip as she thought about what Inoichi was asking her. He was asking whether her loyalty to the Hokage was stronger than her loyalty to her friends and family. It was true that she had sworn to serve and protect Konoha, and by extension, the Hokage, but never had she thought she would need to choose between the two. But she had read all too much on the consequences of civil wars, of which Amegakure was a prime example. A ninja village could be crippled so easily, and Kei couldn't let it happen to Konoha.

If the rebellion happened, what would become of her friends? Most of them were merely genin or civilian, they would not be able to protect themselves. So if she did this, she would be protecting her friends. If they were helping the council, she would still rather have them jailed than have them die in combat. She looked up towards Inoichi and said, "I am willing."

Beside her, Shikamaru was running hundreds of scenarios through his head. There were ones with his family supporting the council and others of his family supporting the Hokage. He didn't want to think of his family ever betraying the Hokage, but it was a legitimate possibility and everything had to be taken into account. Would he be strong enough to go against his father if it came right down to it?

When he heard Kei's acceptance, Shikamaru felt his gut wrench. Either way, it seemed he could be fighting against the people he cared for. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "So am I." The die had been cast and now he would have to stick with it and hope that everything would be alright.

Kei and Shikamaru turned to look over towards Naruto who had stayed silent the entire time. A sneaky smile had made its way onto his face as he whisper-shouted, "Of course! This will be fun!" Shikamaru slapped his face into his palm. Trust Naruto to make light of a serious situation. "I've never liked them anyways, so this is a perfect chance! So, how do we do it?"

Inoichi let out a breath he didn't even know that he had been holding. They had all accepted. Thank goodness, for he didn't know what he would do if one of them rejected. If one had rejected then... Well, they couldn't let the council know that they knew.

"The chuunin exams will be held in Konoha this year. I trust you all know about them?" The genin nodded in return as the leaned over the fire to listen closely. "Foreign dignitaries from all over will be coming to watch the competition. We don't know if the council has made an alliance with one of these leaders to help overthrow the Hokage. I need you to keep an eye out for any suspicious activity on the part of the genin or the sensei. Can you do this for me?"

The trio bobbed their heads up and down.

"Of course, Inoichi-sensei."

**Omake: The Genius, the Bookie, and the what?**

The genin were all huddled in Naruto's apartment to discuss battle tactics when Naruto suddenly asked, "Hey, wait a minute." He pointed towards Shikamaru and said, "Everyone always calls you the genius," then he pointed to Kei, "and they call you the bookie. Then what do they call me?"

Shikamaru facepalmed and said, "They call you the... Uh..." Then he realized that Naruto didn't have a title. He had been so used to being called a genius that it was practically a second name. Kei was obviously a bookworm with how she carried that notebook around. Naruto on the other hand was slightly more like a hyperactive squirrel than anything.

"See? I don't have a name!" Naruto exclaimed while waving his arms around emphatically. "I hardly see how this is fair! I want one too!"

"This is completely off topic," Kei mumbled quietly. "How about we just continue to call you Naruto-san? And I really don't see why I am the bookie. This is a journal, not a book. And I don't live in a library or something. I observe people. This requires that I don't stick inside of a stuffy library all the time."

"A journal is still a book-like thing, Kei-chan! And it's important! Remember Inoichi-sensei's former team, Ino-Shika-Cho? They were called Boar-Deer-Butterfly and I think it was incredibly awesome. Your name is kinda short to use as a prefix, Kei-chan, so we should do nicknames instead! Come on, please?"

"Genius-Bookie isn't a good starting point, Naruto," said Shikamaru with a sigh.

"Nothing is cool until you make it cool. What, did you think that calling a team Boar-Deer-Butterfly sounded cool in the beginning? Duh, no. We'll make it cool once we become famous!" Naruto chirped excitedly.

"Fine. We'll call you Livewire. Happy?" Kei said with a roll of her eyes. However, Naruto wasn't quite as skeptic as she was about the idea.

"That's so awesome, Kei-chan! I knew you would come up with an amazing name! Genius-Bookie-Livewire! We'll totally rock this name!"

That was the day that Kei and Shikamaru solemnly swore that no one would ever hear of Team Tsume's second nickname.

**Author's Note: konatachan603! Did you notice that I used your prompt? ;) I had a lot of fun writing that so thanks for sending it to me!**

**I'm so honored to be receiving all of this support from you readers! It's amazing that the story has come so far! Seeing the alerts count go up and reading the reviews keeps on inspiring me to plug out the next chapter, so thank you so much!**

**Also, special thanks to Pokepikachu1, my beta, for taking the time to beta for me with a busy schedule.**

**I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**


	16. Heavy Taboo

The betrayal of trust carries a heavy taboo.  
**-Aldrich Ames**

Chapter 15: Heavy Taboo

Naruto waved goodbye to Masaki as he walked away from the village. It was hard to see the miner through the bustling crowds, but the ashen skin was still visible. "See you later!" Naruto yelled cheerily as he said his final goodbyes. A part of him was squirming as he said it. Now that they had separated from the miners they would have to hurry back to Konohagakure. Inoichi had said that the chuunin exams started on the third Wednesday of July and it was already July 2nd. They had to get back to town and sign up for the exams by the 15th. It would be no problem for them to return, but they had to figure out how to merge into the genin crowd.

After all, Team Tsume had only been genin for four months. They didn't have an illustrious track record, nor did they have a famous clan member on their team. Uchiha and Hyuuga were shoe-ins for being entered on their first year because they were supposed to have trained for years already. Shikamaru may have been a clan member, but the Nara were not well known for their strength. Often enough, the Nara clan became chuunin a year or two behind the others merely because of their lack of combat ability. They were smarter than most ninjas, but it wasn't the brains that made a ninja become a chuunin. They had to be the full package.

Inoichi had told them that he'd work it out. He had said that because at least two other genin teams from Konoha would be entering, there would probably be no problem with a third being entered. But it was vital that their team was entered into the chuunin exams. If they were not, then it would be nearly impossible to communicate with the rest of the genin entered into the competition. Rarely did the competing genin ever venture out except for training, and training was a conventionally poor time to be spying on someone. A jutsu could misfire on "accident".

"We have to hurry on back. Let's go," Inoichi said as he patted his genin on the shoulder. As the sound of the chattering populace faded into the distance, it was time for them to be on the move. "You all know how to shunshin, correct? If two of you get tired, I can carry you a bit longer so you can rest. If all of you get tired, we will have to stop for a few minutes, but we cannot waste time. We need to get there within a few days if we want to look like we had planned to participate ahead of time."

"You hadn't expected us to participate, Inoichi-sensei?" Kei asked worriedly. She was still worried about the idea of participating in the chuunin exams. She was the anti-soldier when it came to strength. She still had not learned any particular offensive jutsu, but she knew that she'd have to come up with something if she was going to live. The former chuunin had gossiped about their games though they technically were not supposed to. They said that the walls had ears, and Kei listened to the words whispered into the wind. They said that they signed forms that said if they died it wasn't the fault of the village. That meant people did die during the competition. She didn't want to die just because she had a mission to infiltrate the genin populace. She had to be ready, but she didn't know how!

Inoichi shook his head. "I'm afraid not. I was thinking about entering you next year considering you did so well on this mission. You all show great potential by being able to defeat someone so much stronger than you. Once we get back to the village, we will be doing a crash course to get you all stronger. Now is not the time to be vulnerable, so we're going to make sure you are all as strong as you can be. You will be joining back up with your affinity trainers. I do not know whose side they are on, but they have no reason to deny you training. In any case, you will have time to check their loyalties."

Shikamaru looked over at Inoichi with a skeptical look on his face. "They're all jounin. Are you sure that we're going to be safe even if we figure out they are on the opposite side?"

"They can't kill you in the open, so just stay where they can't cause any accidents." Kei blanched at Inoichi's words. Her mind briefly went back to her training sessions with Kakashi. Oh crap, what if he held her underwater again? He really was going to kill her one of these times and it would appear to be like an accident. She rubbed her forehead with her palm and sighed. She was going to suffer one way or another. Why couldn't anything go her way?

"That's reassuring," Shikamaru mumbled. He tapped his foot against the ground experimentally before sending a small burst of chakra to his feet. The boy nodded in satisfaction before turning to Inoichi. He had healed up well over the past few days and had been able to walk the rest of the way back into the village. He was confident he would be able to shunshin his way back to Konoha.

"Alright. Now let's hurry. We can be there in two days if we make haste."

-TSUME-

They hurried back along the dirt path until the familiar gates of Konohoa loomed before them. Shikamaru let out a sigh of relief as he began to slow. Finally, they had arrived. It had been a long few days and his legs were beginning to kill him. The bursts of chakra didn't require much energy, but the real problem was when he did it for hours on end. His hair was in a jumble as skittered to a stop. He put his hands on his knees and huffed tiredly. He was never one for stamina and the journey had taken a lot of out him.

He looked over to see that Kei was also struggling for air. The maroon haired girl was bending on one knee and gasping for breath. Shikamaru looked over to Naruto and felt his eyebrow twitch in irritation. Naruto was smiling cheerily and was chatting with Izumo about how long it had been since they had seen him. Naruto had a weird journey back, mostly because he hopped a good thirty feet whenever he let out a burst of chakra. Inoichi had tried to get him to not use as much, but to no avail. The boy just couldn't learn moderation. He was so lucky sometimes. The day he tired would be the day the world exploded.

"Hey! Is that really you guys?" Kiba waved from beyond the gates with a cheeky smile on his face. He looked them over before saying bluntly, "You all look like the living dead. Geez! You guys must be really lame if you can't guard a wagon right." The brown haired boy was the object of three vicious glares, but simply gave a shrug. "What? I'm just saying the truth here."

"Not amusing," Kei said in and out of rasps. Her golden eyes narrowed at Kiba as he waved her off. A little voice in the back of her head reminded her that she didn't know who Kiba was allied with, if anyone. Her eyes scrunched as she thought about it. Would all the genin be considered important enough to be recruited? Kiba was of an important clan, she supposed, and genin were the future of the village. She'd have to be careful of what she said around him, around everyone.

"I think it is hilarious to be honest," said Kiba with a snort. "Considering that you were our dearly beloved braniacs, I feel strangely happy that you all look miserable. Call me cruel, but I feel like laughing in your faces. I'm being nice right now by not doing it. Trust me."

Naruto looked over to where Kiba was standing and ambled over, "What are you talking about?"

Kiba looked from Shikamaru to Naruto and back about before raising a brow. "Did they carry your fat behind back to Konoha or why do you look so darn fresh?"

"No... I walked back," said Naruto in confusion. Did he look as if he didn't belong? Sure, Kei and Shikamaru were a little bit tired, but they still looked generally the same. "I dunno why it was easier," the Kyuubi, "but I'm feeling super right now!" He giggled happily before slapped Kiba on the back. He purposefully put about twice as much force as was needed into it, causing Kiba to tumble into the dirt between Shikamaru and Kei. "Deserved it," Naruto mumbled under his breath.

Kiba pushed himself up from the ground and spluttered before turning around to glare daggers at Naruto. He silently stood up and brushed himself off before saying snootily, "Well, I'm not the one that finished a mission late. We actually finished out first out of village mission _on time_." He smirked at Naruto's gawking expression. "I know, right? Now you realize how much awesomer I really am!"

"Not really. I think Naruto is just wondering how a flunky like you got a mission in the first place," said Kei, finally catching her breath. She rubbed her wrists before straightening her clothes. "I doubt it was because of your skills." Naruto flinched. When Kei was in a nasty mood, she could be a viper. That had to hurt.

"What! It was totally because we destroyed you and you got one!" Kiba exclaimed incredulously.

"Actually, it was because you threatened to mutiny if you didn't get one..." Sakura mumbled as she skittered into the clearing. She had her head bowed low and her pink drifted in front of her face. She looked up at Team Tsume once before bowing her head again. "Also your mother came in to advocate for you."

"Haruno! Don't say that!" Kiba yelled, clamping a hand over his teammate's mouth. He laughed nervously as the girl squirmed. Shikamaru saw out of the corner of his eyes that Kiba was squeezing Sakura's wrist tightly, far too tightly. Sakura eeped as the hand covered her mouth and used her hands to weakly try to push Kiba away.

Naruto frowned and marched up to Kiba and grabbed his shoulder. "Let go." The merriment in his voice had disappeared. The temperature seemed to drop as he enunciated each word. Kiba screwed up his face in confusion and stepped away from Sakura.

"Dude, what's your problem? I was just trying to tell her to stop lying about me. Right, Haruno?" Kiba looked pointedly over to Sakura who bobbed her head up and down quickly, too quickly. Naruto frowned as he looked from Kiba to Sakura, but knew he couldn't do anything if Sakura wouldn't admit something was wrong.

"Hello Inuzuka-kun, it's a pleasure to see you," Inoichi said serenely as he walked over. "I'm afraid I must steal my three genin away from you. We have to go report to the Hokage, but perhaps we can see you later?" Inoichi's blue eyes flashed dangerously and Kiba took an involuntary step back.

"Nice to see you too, Yamanaka-sensei," Kiba said shortly as his eyes darted between Inoichi and the genin. "I had better go as well. Training to do, ya know? Haruno, let's go. Sasuke-san is going to want to train." Sakura nodded quickly before hustling after Kiba as he stalked away haughtily. She cast a look back at Tsume before mouthing a wordless apology. She scuttled away and left the team standing still outside the gates.

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes at the place where Sakura and Kiba had stood only moments before. He had never remembered Kiba being that way during school. Sure, Kiba had always been a little cocky, but he had never been outright mean to anyone. And Sakura was unnaturally quiet. She was rambunctious and loved getting involved in other people's business so she could cheer them up. Now she was as quiet as a clam and it worried him.

Had things changed so much since he had left? During the genin trials that the mentors had set up, he had noticed that Kiba and Sakura were changing, but for them to have changed so completely was stunning. Could this perhaps be a side effect of being touched by the revolution? It was something he would have to keep in mind because they were acting so strangely.

"Come on, you three. We have to go." Inoichi patted Shikamaru and Naruto on the shoulder before gesturing towards the busy streets. He walked down the dirt path, casting a look behind him every so often to make sure the trio was following him. Naruto ducked in and out of the crowd, trying to keep a low profile. He swerved in and out, trying to keep up the pace so that no one would recognize him. He had developed a unique way of walking down the streets in order to avoid the unwanted eyes of the villagers. Ducking and hiding did nothing because everyone would stare to figure out who was acting so strangely. It was wiser to just act as if you were in a hurry because that was perfectly normal inside of Konoha.

They headed down the streets to the Academy and therefore, the Hokage Office. As Naruto stood in front of the gates, a flood of emotion swept through him. It hadn't been long ago when he had been the one running around that courtyard, being ignored and mocked. The swing he had always swung on was still attached to that old tree. He smiled a bit. The more things changed, the more things stayed the same. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Kei giving him an encouraging nod. He smiled widely at her and murmured his thanks as he ruffled her hair.

She patted her hair down and sent him a soft glare before sighing. The girl readjusted her notebook in her arms before making her way to the Hokage's office. It felt awkward to be going back there again. When was the last time they had visited the Hokage's office? She thought for a moment before blanching. Shoot, the last time they had been there was when they took the scroll.

She looked over to Shikamaru to see him thinking the exact same thing. He was looking up at the Hokage's office with a nervous look on his face. He rubbed a hand across his face and took a calming breathe. In and out. In and out. Okay, he'd have to be good now. He put his hands down by his sides and tried to prevent himself from looking like a nervous wreck as he followed Inoichi into the building.

Kids swarmed around him as they moved to and from classes. There were new classes starting each quarter so there was always a plethora of kids attending. It was a cacophony of sound as the children couldn't help but chatter as _real_shinobi passed by. Shinobi were like a commodity to the students, and Shikamaru could remember all too well of his days as a student. Too many people were squealing and screaming when a chuunin walked through the halls. How troublesome.

Inoichi cleared a way through the crowd and Shikamaru hustled after him and towards the stairs. The chuunin guard pulled the door open and let the team through. They marched up the stairs and when they opened the door, Inoichi had to whip a hand up to catch a stray ball of paper. He looked at the scrunched up paper with amusement before looking around to see who had thrown it. "Over here!" A secretary called as she waved her hands around.

Inoichi tossed the ball with expert precision and the brunette caught it before giving Inoichi a nervous smile. She turned back to her work and left Tsume to work on trying to get through the hustle and bustle. "I can't give any advice here, but imagine the paper as kunai. It's good training in any case." Naruto, being the only one to have actually had to cross the room, was almost calm, almost. Kei and Shikamaru on the other hand looked terrified. They had just come back from a mission where they had watched their first kill and had used forbidden jutsu, and now this? Did everyone have to go through this just to report to the Hokage? No wonder everyone tried to turn in their reports late!

Inoichi headed into the fray, easily moving along with the flow. His hair didn't even get in the way as he slipped over to the other side. Once he reached the other door he waved for his genin to follow with a smile on his face. It was times like this when Naruto felt that Inoichi smiled too much.

"I'll go first," Naruto volunteered with a raise of his hand. He took a step forward before immediately pulling back as a paper weight was flung across the room. This was downright dangerous! He gulped before trying to pull himself together. He rushed across the room, scuttling around flying pens, notepads, and folders before sliding into Inoichi on the other side. "I'm alive!" He said with a cheery wheeze before collapsing at Inoichi's feet.

Behind him, Kei turned pale. She wasn't made for all of this running stuff! She was a bookkeeper, an information gatherer, a strategist even, but not a runner! She looked over to Shikamaru and knew by the way he was looking at her that she would have to go next. She groaned before forcing herself out. A stray pencil smacked into her head, and Kei cringed as she fled across. However, other than the first pencil, she managed to dodge most of the implements that were being tossed around. She screeched to a stop by her teammate before thinking, _How did Naruto-kun do this before? It's a bloody miracle we were never caught!_

"Come on, Shikamaru-kun! You're the last one!" Inoichi called out across the room. His words were muffled by the shouts of the secretaries as orders went flying. A lot of work had to be done to run an entire city after all. And everyone happened to work in the same room which made it easy to transport things, but ten times as chaotic.

Shikamaru stretched out his arms before running straight across the room. He didn't even bother to dodge because he knew he had it coming. A folder whacked him in the head and a paperweight hit him in the leg, causing him to topple and a small mound of papers to pile alongside him. He shook them off before finishing his perilous journey across the room. He ignored the angry yells of the secretaries behind him as he reached his teammates on the other side. His face was dark as he stood beside his teammates. "When we leave, I leave through the window. I am not going back through there."

Naruto stifled a snort and nodded. "Yes, my dear uncoordinated friend. Whatever you say."

"Oh shush," Shikamaru retorted. One did not simply feel happy after being significantly bruised by secretaries that probably had no shinobi training. It was embarrassing!

"Let's just go meet up with the Hokage, now shall we?" Inoichi asked with a pitying tone to his voice. Shikamaru sent him an angry glare before nodding. From the information that he recalled from all those months ago, there was absolutely no danger in crossing the jounin quarters.

They hustled through the door and waved to the three jounin that were lazing about on the bunk beds. "Yo Inoichi! I see you got some newbies, eh? It must suck to be tied down again." One of the jounin called with a blasé tone to his voice.

"I quite like my genin, Hosokawa-kun," Inoichi said with a kind smile. "When you get genin as wonderful as mine, I am sure you will understand." Naruto puffed up with pride. Even after all the trouble he had caused Inoichi, Inoichi still felt proud they were his. He didn't just like them, but he was proud! Naruto smiled and the glares of the jounin in the room bounced right off of him. He didn't even mind as long as Inoichi cared for him.

"Maybe, maybe. I honestly doubt it though. I'm not that kind," Hosokawa said with a lazy wave of his hand. Inoichi sighed before saying his goodbyes. The blonde man walked through the dormitories and pulled open the door on the other side. Naruto cast a guilty look over to Asuma who was snoring peacefully on his own bunk. The jounin obviously had just come back from a mission from the disarray of his clothing. But Naruto couldn't help but stare at his face, the face that he, himself, had imitated to get into the office to _steal_.

Kei shoved him along and the two hurried to join Inoichi and Shikamaru on the other side of the doorway. Naruto mumbled his thanks before following Inoichi down the hallway. His blue eyes looked out the glassy windows at the children that were milling about the yard. It was late enough in the day that parents had come to pick up their kids. A small frown crossed his face as he saw the happy kids meet their parents. Of course, his parents just had to die. Naruto sighed before heading down to the end of the hall where Inoichi and the others stood.

Now it was time to meet the Hokage. Naruto swallowed. How was he going to face the man that he had lied to? It was easy to walk past people, but now he had to actually talk to him! He let out a calming exhale and cleared his emotions from his face. He would have to act as if nothing was wrong, that's right. Everything would be totally fine.

* * *

**I finished on time! It's a miracle! I never thought I would do it! XD I had debate camp this week from 9 am to 5pm then an hour commute. If you're reading this on Saturday, that means that I uploaded it on my Mom's phone. If not, then I probably didn't get it because I was at a friend's house and in a dead zone. But you all love me anyways, right? ;D**

**I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I'm beginning to ease in to the chuunin arc so there will be more action in the next chapter. I wanted to begin reintroducing the other genin. I know they aren't incredibly popular, but who knows who is on the enemy side? ;o Care to hazard a guess?**

**Thank you so much for reading my story and subscribing! I really appreciate it! ;D Send a review as well?**

**Thanks to Pokepikachu1 for betaing me!**


	17. However I Dress Up

However I dress it up, I was a spy and I am not proud of it.  
**-Christine Keeler**

Chapter 16: However I Dress It Up

His red and white robes billowed out behind him as he stared out the window overlooking the academy. A purple haired girl was chattering beside some of the genin hopefuls. A while ago, he would have thought the sentiment was sweet and that Hinata was trying to help them. Now, he could not be so sure. Was she whispering traitorous mumblings to the students to get them before they even passed? No one could say except for the ones that were listening to her at that time.

Hiruzen frowned as he looked at them. Hinata pulled away from the two students and gave a quick wave before running out to where Teru was. The two talked for a moment more before walking away. The kage stared at the empty spot where they once stood before he heard the squeak of the door opening. He looked over to see Inoichi and his genin standing in the doorway. The old man gave a sigh before motioning them in. He would get no reprieve from all of this business.

He moved back to his chair and took a seat at Team Tsume entered the room. Inoichi shut the door with a click and turned the key in its lock before joining the genin at the desk. "Team Tsume, reporting," said Inoichi with a short bow.

"Thank you, Yamanaka-san," said Hiruzen. "I will not waste time and ask how your mission was. You all look well enough and that is what matters right now. We have more important things at hand. I trust that Yamanaka-san has told you all of your new mission?"

The genin all bobbed their heads up and down. "There is more to it than that. New intel has been received since I was able to contact you. I sent that message almost a week ago now and the situation has continued to evolve."

Shikamaru was absorbing the information like a sponge. He had known that heading into this, almost no information could be trusted. This was a delicate situation. It was a battlefield. The battlefield was always changing. Things that could be truths one second could be falsehoods the next. He would have to be extremely careful about who he could trust. He knew he could trust Kei, Inoichi, and Naruto, but who else? He knew of no one, not even his parents.

"The Kazekage has come along with his genin team. The important thing is the fact that he brought nine body guards." Inoichi raised a brow at that. The Kazekage was always known to be cautious, but nine body guards? Wasn't that overdoing it? It seemed to be a neon sign saying that he was suspicious, but was it too obvious? Anyone who was trying to sneak in to Konoha with a miniature army would never do it in such an obvious way.

"They range from chuunin to ANBU. They all check out from various co-op missions that we have performed with Sunagakure, so they aren't outside mercenaries. Unless, of course, they have been planning this farce for an even longer time than we had suspected." The Hokage explained. He grabbed the pipe on his desk and flicked a match and let the tobacco burn. He took a puff before continuing, "Obviously, we are suspecting them. However, there are many other countries to be worried about."

"Otogakure is a new country. No one knows the details of how or why they were given land from the daimyo. We have consulted their sovereign on the matter, but he remained evasive. It may be a simple sign of protectiveness, or he may be purposefully trying to conceal information from us. Either way, it is not a good thing."

Kei had her notebook out and was scribbling in a mirror image script cipher. The kage made no sound of beginning to stop, so she had to assume that there would be a lot of countries to cover. "Amegakure is another unknown factor. They are great illusionists and most of their genin have a knack for genjutsu. Some intel that came in suggests that they may have sent in genjutsu specialists to infiltrate the village. No one entering has been caught with a genjutsu, but since the Uchiha boy's sharingan hasn't activated yet, we can't be sure."

"Kusagakure is an enigma to us. They retain good relationships with all of the other shinobi nations, so in a sense, they are trusted, but no one trusts them. They are allies with too many countries to have a true allegiance to any of them," he explained.

"Kirigakure is coming off of a civil war attempt. Many government officials were assassinated. We don't know if they would side with us because they want to prevent the precedent of another civil war even if it is in another country." The Hokage ended with a sigh. A long puff of smoke issues from his nostrils as he looked over towards the team in front of him. "Do you begin to see where it gets complicated?"

"Good grief," said Naruto blankly. He blinked a few times before nodding emphatically. He refrained from saying much more for fear of exposing his fright of the Hokage. It was probably more suspicious for him to say nothing, but he couldn't just talk normally after stealing from the old man.

"Indeed." The Hokage agreed with a chuckle. "There are 51 teams that have been scheduled to enter. This is, with you entering of course." He realized at that time, Inoichi had never confirmed that they were willing to enter. He looked over to the former T&I director with a calculating look. Inoichi took the message and nodded.

"Team Tsume is going to enter the chuunin exams." Inoichi almost regretted his words the moment they left his mouth. He was still worrying over the fact that they might not be ready. He knew Kei and Shikamaru weren't offensive types. What if they got themselves killed for this mission? Inoichi would never be able to live with himself.

"Good. The exams still have a few weeks left before they get running, so use your time carefully. A few other genin teams from Konoha are joining as well: Team 6, Team 7, and Team 8. I believe they were all graduating from the same class as your genin, Yamanaka-san," the Hokage said.

Kei flipped back a few pages in her notebook to a part that was written in a Vigenère cipher. She had made bios on all of the genin teams that she had graduated with and had prudently left a margin for each person for more notes. She looked it over quickly, decoding the jumble as she went before flipping back to the front of her notebook. A lot of the information would probably be outdated, so this gave her the perfect chance to gather new info.

"All of them? Are they truly ready?" Inoichi asked in confusion. He had not expected for all the new genin to enter at once.

"I do not think so, but each team has a clan member that is demanding that they be put through to the chuunin exams," said the Hokage, puffing on his pipe. The Uchiha is receiving support from the council in general while Hiashi and Chouza are vying for their own children. I couldn't reject them or risk the spurring of the rebellion."

Inoichi frowned. Chouza had never been a militaristic type. He preferred to relax and chat with his friends. Inoichi couldn't imagine his longtime friend as someone who would try to force his son into the exams before his time. The thought crossed his mind that Chouza was training his son to be a soldier, but that couldn't be. Things couldn't have changed so quickly since their last get together. He'd have to visit him soon to see what was really going on.

"However, I had better talk about the task at hand." The Hokage waved them closer to his desk before unraveling a scroll. It was a detailed map of Konoha with a few buildings circled in red. Above each circle were the names of all the countries. "On here I have marked down the locations of all the genin teams and their leaders. Each dignitary is staying in a separate facility to prevent tensions between the higher ups. The politicians have been provided guides during their stay, but the genin and their teachers have not. I did this so that you would be able to approach them with no one to stop you."

"When they came into Konoha, I requested that they only be out during certain periods of the day. And if they wish to use the training grounds, they have select time slots in which they can do so." He brought out a separate notebook and slid it over towards them. Kei picked it up and eagerly began leafing through it. "That contains the time slots that they have requested and when they should be out and about. You'll need it if you are to plan out encounters before the actual tournament. All the teams have arrived except the delegations from Kirigakure and Amegakure. I chose their time slots for them and their future lodging are still marked on this map."

He tapped the scroll in the two spots marking the hotels they would be staying at. "Absolutely do not let this fall into enemy hands. I was not supposed to mark down their locations at all since they were supposed to be done completely by oral agreement. I have broken my word for the safety of Konoha, and I do not want that lie to be for naught. Understood?"

Naruto bobbed his head up and down hurriedly. He really wanted to get out of here. "All right. Are there any questions then?"

Silence reigned as each of them looked back and forth between each other. Finally, Shikamaru said, "If we have an opportunity to go undercover, should we take it? I mean, if someone close to us is already in the group, should we ask to join with them?" It was painfully obvious that Shikamaru was referring to his family. The Nara clan would be the first to be sought out about a revolution because of their strategic skills. A Nara versus a non-Nara would be a pathetically easy match, however, a Nara versus a Nara and the sides would be equal.

"Yes, Nara-kun." Hiruzen nodded solemnly as he laced his fingers together. "Just try to contact another one of your genin team and have them tell me of the proceedings. If you try to directly contact me either by hawk or by an in-person meeting, it may endanger you. However, only do it if you are comfortable with the situation, all right?"

Shikamaru nodded with a frown on his face. Hiruzen sighed. It was a pity that children at such a young age had to be involved in this. When he was twelve, he was still dreaming of being the best ninja he could be. He was still trying to weed gardens and catch cats, none of this spying nonsense.

"So is that all?" No one made a reply, and so Hiruzen leaned back into his chair. "That will be all then. Feel free to take the scroll. You are dismissed." Inoichi leaned forward to wrap the scroll up before tying the rope back around it. He pulled out a sealing scroll and plucked the time keeping notebook from Kei's hands and placed it on top of the seal along with the map. He jetted a small amount of his chakra into the scroll before an almost invisible puff of smoke took the items away.

He leaned away and gave a quick bow before turning to hustle his genin away from the office.

Naruto was all too eager to leave, something that the Hokage easily noticed, but didn't stop. It was more than nervousness, but Hiruzen didn't want to put more on the boy's mind than he had to. The door slammed shut and Hiruzen watched as smoke drifted off into the air. He hoped this would not be the last time he would see them and that they wouldn't vanish like so many other spies gone before them.

-TSUME-

They had all dispersed afterwards to go back to their family or to their empty homes. Shikamaru walked on the dirt path up to the Nara Estate with his eyes closed and his hands deep in his pockets. Being like this helped him think. When the world was empty around him and all that existed was his own thoughts. It was why he always appeared to be sleeping. It allowed him to think and for nothing to distract him.

The sound of the deer stepping through the grass sounded to the right of him, and Shikamaru exhaled sharply. This was so troublesome! His eyes snapped open and latched onto a rock before him. He kicked it harshly and watched as it tumbled across the ground and into an innocent sapling. Shikamaru rarely lost control. He always seemed like a collected character, but all of that fell away when he was truly alone.

When things got to that critical point, he had to do something. May it be scream or kick a hapless rock; he needed to vent his anger. It wasn't just that he had gotten injured and he was recovering or even the fact that his family could be traitors. Both of those things worried him, but they weren't even to drive him to this point. What really frustrated him was the fact that there was no definable line. There was the good and the evil, sure, but it would be impossible to divide people into such easy categories.

He knew there would be people that were forced to join the rebellion and others that had been fooled into thinking that it was the right thing to would be the term he would use to describe them. They were not inherently evil in and of themselves, they were just being forced to do evil things. But he would still have to mark them down as enemies and people that could be disposed of if it came to a battle. He wasn't a fool; he knew he would be writing death sentences if it came down to a coup de tat.

He ran a hand through his hair and tried to get a hold of himself. It would do no good for him to panic. He had to keep himself cool if he was going to walk back into his home and talk to his clan mates and his family. They would instantly pick up on the fact that something was wrong, they were Nara after all. Shikamaru dropped his hand from his hair and breathed in an out until he felt his heart rate had slowed enough.

The boy looked forward sadly before walking forward towards the estate. The cream walls loomed above him as he stepped upon the wooden flooring. "I'm back!" He yelled out into the empty hallways. The sound of his voice echoing could be heard as he slipped up the short stairs onto the main walkway.

"Ah, Shikamaru! Welcome back, boy," said Shikaku from his spot at the dining table. He held a cup of tea in his hands while another one of their many cousins was trying to match him in shogi. "If you're back, you must have succeeded, but to keep with tradition: how did the mission go?"

The question seemed so innocent, but now Shikamaru's mind ran differently. Was Shikaku asking him this to calculate how strong Shikamaru was and if he'd be an asset? Or perhaps was he trying to gather information on his teammates to figure out which ones would be eliminated first? It briefly crossed his mind that his father just honestly wanted to know how his son was doing, and Shikamaru stopped. This really was beginning to affect him.

"It went well in the beginning, later on though, not so well." He kept his reply vague, but truthful. Later was both worse in the sense of Aoi and that they had received their true mission.

"Ahh? Why so?" Shikaku asked while he sipped his tea.

Shikamaru sighed. This was going to be a long evening.

-TSUME-

"Kei-chan? Is that you?" Kei flinched. She had hoped that no one would notice her on her way back to her home, but that was obviously not to be. She turned around to see a peppy blonde running up towards her. Ino hopped, skipped, and jumped over to her before landing daintily in front of her. "It's been ages, hasn't it?" Ino's voice made her want to cringe, but it would be impolite to do so. In any case, she was Inoichi's daughter and had to have some good qualities.

"Yes, it has. I've only just got back," she explained. Hopefully the not-so-subtle hint would not go unnoticed. Needless to say, it went unnoticed.

"Really? Then you must tell me all about it!" Ino squealed happily, tugging on Kei's arm. "Let's go have some candies or something! I know just the place."

"Don't you have something to do with your teammates, Yamanaka-san? Most people have training about now..." Kei's voice trailed off when she saw the expression that crossed Ino's face. It was one of pure disgust and disdain.

"Hah? Why would I purposefully stay around with those losers? Seriously, Kei-chan, I thought you knew me better than that. They've only gotten worse since you left though, so I suppose it is kind of understandable." Ino scrunched up her face as she thought about her teammates. "Hanagaki-san is a twit. You throw a kunai at him, and he gets down on his knees to beg for mercy. Akimichi-san isn't much better, but his blubber protects him from everything that comes at him, I suppose."

Kei was beginning to expect the unexpected, but it was still nothing she had every expected. Ino had a look of such revulsion on her face, Kei had never thought it was possible. "I've had to pick up the slack for all of them," complained Ino. "I spend most of my off hours reading daddy's tomes about the Yamanaka clan jutsu because my skills are ahead of the others. And you know how that goes. "No, Ino. You can't work on more advanced techniques even though you are obviously more talented. You have to wait for your classmates to catch up." That is such a joke. I can't believe my time is being wasted like that..." The blonde ended with a roll of her eyes.

"I don't even want to talk about them..." Ino turned away to stare at the ground, closing her blue eyes. Kei stood there awkwardly before reaching a hand out to tap Ino on the shoulder. "So let's go get those candies, hm?" Ino whipped around and flashed Kei a glittering smile. It was so bright, Kei almost jumped. Ino's personalities were switching around so quickly, it was hard to keep track!

Ino grabbed onto Kei's hand and pulled her down the street towards the candy store. "Let's have fun, huh?" She squeaked happily as her hand fastened around Kei's. Soon enough, the maroon haired girl was dragged down the busy streets. Her mind had drifted away to another place though. Ino was showing signs of Borderline Personality Disorder. BPD was normally triggered by post-traumatic stress disorder or trauma such as childhood abuse.

But Inoichi had been away from home, so it couldn't have been him. Another relative perhaps, maybe the problems with her team or was it... Her eyes widened as she came to a new conclusion. Was this the stress of being a part of a rebellion?

Her golden eyes flicked back to the hand that was wrapped around hers. Until she figured out what side Ino was on, Kei would have to be on alert. Her eyes softened as she looked at the bright cheeriness on the blonde's face. Any other time, Kei would have gone to consult a doctor about her friend, but now that would disrupt the delicate balance in the village.

Was it unethical to not try and get help for her friend in case something wrong was happening? She tried not to think about it as she was hauled away. Instead she closed her eyes and silently hoped that Ino was not on the other side because no matter how annoying she was, she was still a friend.

-TSUME-

Naruto sat on his stool at Ichiraku and slurped up his noodles with the money he had received on the previous mission. He ate in silence, once in a while sending glances to the other people in the stall. On the far side, he saw Team 8 eating their own ramen. Teru talked animatedly to Hinata whilst making a good impression of Team 8 being a two man team. Shino sat glumly, hunched over his noodles. The boy seemed to be taking notice of nothing else as he stared at one of his bugs crawling along the edge of the bowl.

"Dude! That's so gross!" Teru reached over and grabbed the small chakra sucking bug and held it in the air. He smiled cockily before dropping it back onto the table. Shino snapped out his hands and caught the falling bug before turning to look at Teru. Naruto would not have been able to tell it was a glare, save for the killer intent that was obviously radiating off of the boy - the very same killer intent that Teru was oblivious to. "And those things live inside you? I can't believe it! How creepy!" He said in his jolly voice, unknowingly offending the Aburame even more.

"It is kind of strange," offered Hinata. The girl leaned casually back in her stool. She leaned her head on her arm that was propped up on the counter. What struck Naruto was the fact that her shyness seemed to have decreased since he was gone. She wasn't cowering anymore, though she still had her bangs. She seemed a lot more relaxed than she used to be. She gave Teru a look that signaled to Naruto that she obviously had a crush on her teammate. That meant that they would probably mobilize as a group and that the side that got Teru would get Hinata as well.

"They live as well. Do not think that they do not understand what we say," replied Shino shortly. The bug crawled back up his sleeve, and Shino turned back to his food.

"It was just a joke, dude! You have to relax more!" Teru chirped, slapping a hand across Shino's back. Shino choked on some of the ramen in his mouth and shook his head, trying to ignore his teammate. Naruto felt kind of sorry for the guy. It was obvious that Shino didn't get along with any of them, not even Hinata. In Shino's eyes, she must have become a fangirl much like how Ino was for Sasuke.

"I am perfectly relaxed. You are the only one who is disturbing the calm. I am only here because Kurenai-sensei requested it. Do not mistake this for actually caring for either of you," snapped Shino. Teru pulled back and raised his hands in a sign of parley. The blonde shook his head in a blasé manner that Naruto found vaguely irritating.

"Excuse me for wanting to make friends. I'm not the socially awkward person here." Teru turned back to Hinata and left Shino in his own world. From his seat, Naruto almost felt like going out to talk to Shino. The guy obviously needed a friend, but Naruto held himself back. He couldn't get involved with anything right now. If he walked up to Shino while Teru and Hinata were still around, then they could transmit information back to whoever they were allied with. He'd have to stay silent for now.

And so he sat, regretting every moment as he watched Shino. His ramen was tasteless.

* * *

**Author's Note: I stayed up late writing this one. xD Once again, I have another event on this weekend. They're called weekends for a reason! Why can't I seem to get any rest! In any case, I hope you like how this story is developing! I had fun researching personality disorders and ciphers to come up with this chapter. I'll be easing back into all the genin teams. I've really missed writing them.**

**Thanks again to Pokepikachu1 for betaing for me! And thank you so much for continuing to support this story and reading it every week! Leave a review and tell me what you think of the chapter? I'd really appreciate it, and I'm open to answering any questions you have. (:**


	18. Think Twice

Think twice before you speak, because your words and influence will plant the seed of either success or failure in the mind of another.  
**Napoleon Hill**

Chapter 17: Think Twice

They had checked the time schedule and had made their "first appointment". The genin team from Sunagakure was set to be training later that day from 1pm to 4pm. It would seem too perfect if they had arrived just when the other team started, so Team Tsume planned to arrive around 3pm. They would pretend that they had the training field from 3pm to 5pm and that the training fields worked in two hour shifts. The plan seemed simple enough. If they tried to sneak up on the Suna team then it would be practically impossible to explain why they were hiding if they happened to get caught. The only way to avoid something like that would be to walk right up to them and act casual. Luckily for Team Tsume, Kei had a natural poker face; Shikamaru would be casual even if he was caught in a stampede, and Naruto was as easy to scare as a chunk of stone.

Kei sat at the cafe where they had all decided to meet. They didn't have much time left before the chuunin exams, so they had decided to begin to check out the other countries. Even if they only got the slightest hint of innocence, it would help. Right now, they were starting out at ground zero. There were a few things they could assume about the other teams, but nothing was solid. They had to remedy that before the games started.

Anything could happen in the middle of the games. Teams could be sabotaged, kunai might "accidentally" kill people, or alliances could be made to give advantages to some teams. They still didn't know if the council would be receiving help from an outside nation. But if they were, they would probably be helping that nation's teams get through the exams as well. It was the law of reciprocity after all. And Kei found that only very rarely did the law hold false.

Kei laid her hands carefully on her notebook and looked around for her teammates. She had arrived fifteen minutes early to scout out the area. One could never be too careful after all. After she had checked the booth for bugs and the nearby booths for suspicious persons, she had gone back to sitting on the red fabric. Normally she would have been scribbling notes about all the things people in the cafe were saying. Like about how Chizuru Himeko had adopted a ginger tabby from the commercial district two days ago or how Omoida Hanatarou had just come back from a mission in Amegakure. But now it just didn't seem important.

She leaned forward on the table and rested her head down on the wood. The maroon haired girl sighed. She was too young to be feeling old like this. She had known that becoming a ninja would require her to grow up faster than most, but that didn't mean she had to like it. "Oi! Kei-chan! You've already booked a table for us, eh?" Her eyes flicked over to see Naruto standing in the doorway.

The blonde attracted a lot of hateful stares as he ambled over towards the booth where Kei was. He slide into the side across from Kei and smiled cheerily. "Are you ready for today?" He asked merrily. He, of course, was not worried about today at all. The worst thing that could happen would be that they would have to go on defensive if the Suna team decided that they were trying to spy on them. Naruto was confident that if it came down to a fight, his team would come out on top. They hadn't been training for nothing after all.

"Not at all; I'm still not an offensive fighter, you know. I've been visiting the library, but I doubt I could put up a good fight. The chuunin exams are going to be a massacre for me," Kei lamented as she shook her head on the table. "Kakashi-sensei has been busy with his own team since they are entering as well, so he's only been able to send me advice by hawk. And that advice always comes a few hours late because of the transit time. If we get in trouble with the other team, I'm going to be the first to get hurt."

"Awww, don't be like that, Kei-chan! I'm sure you'll come up with something! You're the bookie out of all of us! If there is a jutsu anywhere, then I know you'll find it. I believe in you!" Naruto flashed a thumbs-up at the downcast girl and grinned. "In any case, we'll be there to help you on the way! We're all there to help each other after all!"

Kei smiled weakly. "Thanks, Naruto-san." The sentiment was nice, but it honestly didn't make her feel much better. She would have to one on one it later on in the exams, and that was when she'd get slaughtered.

"I see we're the last ones here." The duo looked over towards the door where Inoichi and Shikamaru were standing. Inoichi had a smile on his face as he headed over to his two genin and took the spot by Naruto. Shikamaru slid in the booth beside Kei and looked at the rest of Team Tsume questioningly.

"So, now what do we do? We have another hour before we have to leave for the training grounds," Shikamaru said simply. He picked up on of the menus that was piled on the edge of the table and gave it a once over before putting it doing. He looked at the rest of his teammates to pick up on how they were feeling. He wasn't particularly worried about how everything would turn out today. It would be more troublesome than anything. In fact, the entire business was too troublesome for his tastes.

Talking with his family at the dinner table had become increasingly difficult as he parried with his father about what had gone on during the day. So far, Shikamaru had found nothing that would prove his father's innocence. He couldn't just suspect him to be innocent; he needed definite proof and that was what worried him. Not many things could prove innocence. It was easier to prove guilt, so until a prime chance arose, Shikamaru couldn't even pretend that Shikaku could be on the side of the Hokage. The Nara clan leader would have to meet with another confirmed member of the opposition and act negatively to his presence for there to be anything resembling proof of innocence. However, they didn't even know a single enemy so far. Things were turning out badly in that regard.

"Well, I suppose we could go over what has been going on over the past few days. I've given you the past four days to rest up, but we have to get ready for the chuunin exams and your supplementary trial." Supplementary trial - that was what they had come to call it now. They couldn't very well call it a mission or civil war prevention plan after all. Inoichi waved down one of the waitresses and ordered a cup of green tea before looking back to his students.

"I've been talking with some of the clan leaders. I missed a meeting while we were out on our previous mission, so I had to catch up with some of them." What Inoichi really meant was that he had snuck around the clan offices in the Council Building to see if there was anything suspicious. "I had the chance to talk with Chouza-san while I was there." Meaning that he had been intercepted on his way to investigate. "We had a pleasant conversation." In other words, they talked kindly to one another, but weren't warm to each other. Something seemed off, but he can't confirm it.

Inoichi's blue eyes drifted from each of his students until finally he had stared them all in the eyes. It was a silent way to make sure they had gotten his message. "Sounds like you were busy then," said Shikamaru calmly. "I've been at home for the past few days, studying with my father." He looked over to Inoichi as he spoke. "It has been pretty relaxed as usual. Dad has been brooding for a while though. He says it's something to do with one of his business meetings, would you know about it?"

Inoichi absorbed the information for a moment. They had told him that the meeting had been about the clan budgets and the subsidies that would be offered by the council. Was there something going on that they weren't letting him know about? "No, I don't believe I know anything, Shikamaru-kun. But, if I do hear anything, I'll tell you. All right?"

The scratching of a pencil against paper was heard as Kei messily scribbled into her notebook. Shikamaru couldn't help himself and looked over her shoulder to try and see what she was reading. Unfortunately, he found a series of gibberish, and he leaned back in his seat with a dejected sigh. It was another bloody cipher. "It's called swagman," Kei said as she continued writing the letters onto the paper. "But continue."

Naruto chortled behind his hand and looked from studious Kei to the annoyed Shikamaru. Shikamaru hated being outsmarted, but it seemed to happen quite frequently nowadays. "I've been eating at Ichiraku's a lot recently. The old man's really awesome there. I've been able to meet some of the genin from Amegakure and Kusagakure there. They're pretty intimidating, you know? The Ame team ignored me whenever I tried to talk to them, and I think they insulted me. It was so cold!" Naruto's eyes conveyed a different message though. The Ame team was uncooperative, probably not looking for an alliance with another group. Ame should be cleared as an enemy. "Kusa on the other hand was pretty chill. They actually wouldn't keep quiet about how they were going to crush Konoha in their own turf."

Inoichi rapped his fingers on the table absent mindedly. He doubted that the Kusa nin could be their enemies even if they had acted so obviously anti-Konoha. No secret agent would risk sending blabbermouths into the heart of the storm like that. The genin would have been told to keep their mouths shut and to remain civil. Unless Kusa had decided to try a reverse psychology theory, but Inoichi doubted that they would risk it. It would have been much safer to try and act neutral.

The waitress came back with Inoichi's green tea, and he took a sip from the hot beverage. "Sounds like you have been busy, Naruto-kun," he said absently. It gave the appearance that they were carrying on an actual conversation though they were actually just relaying information to one another. "What about you, Kei-chan?"

Kei's pencil halted in its movement before being placed daintily on the notebook. Kei looked across the table to Inoichi and said, "I've been with your daughter." Kei frowned. "Had she not told you? We have been visiting each other every day since I got back."

Inoichi frowned as well. Ino had told him that she was at the library studying on some jutsu, and that she was doing it alone. But why would she lie about something as simple as that? He'd have to go home and ask his daughter about that later. "No, I hadn't heard. Thank you for letting me know, Kei-chan." Ino had always had an infatuation with boys. He hoped that she hadn't gotten herself caught up with some rabble since he hadn't had as much time to keep an eye out for her.

Kei leaned her head on her fist in thought. She wondered if she should mention Ino's apparent personality disorder, but if she did, who knew what could happen? If Ino was on the other side, it could spark a change in plans and a coup could be accelerated if they thought that someone was on to them. But she knew that if she told Inoichi then nothing would stop him from doing what was best for Ino. She had to stay silent for now and hope that everything would be all right.

Silence reigned around the table for a few moments before Inoichi put his cup down with a clatter. "We can leave for the grounds now. We can take our time getting there to make up for our leaving early." Inoichi waved over one of the waitresses to pay his bill.

Soon enough, all of Team Tsume was walking down the dirt road. The cafe that they had decided to meet at was placed in the residential district, and was thus closer to the training grounds. It was also less used, allowing them easy entrance and exit. The group walked down the lifeless street, keeping an eye out for all that walked by. Even the lady sweeping her doorstep was subject to speculation by the wary genin. Was she watching them as they walked past because she was curious or because she was keeping tabs on all the genin?

Paranoia seemed to come easily now that they had returned to the village. All the harmless things that wouldn't have bothered them earlier now had dual purposes. They all knew it was silly and that it was probably nothing, but sometimes they couldn't talk themselves out of their worry. So far, it had all come to be nothing, but they couldn't help but worry.

They stalked across the streets in silence. The houses grew few and far between as they headed to the outskirts of Konoha, where the training grounds were. Kei slipped her notebook out from under her shoulder and leafed towards the latter half where she had drawn a map of the training grounds. There were enough plots that sometimes one could get lost trying to find the correct training section. "We should only be about a half mile away now," she said before snapping the book shut.

Inoichi hummed his acknowledgement as he slowed his walk. They still had another ten minutes before they needed to be there. They would preferably arrive just on time and not before as to not arouse suspicions. "You all know what to do, correct?" The genin nodded. They were all supposed to try and talk one of the other genin individually while Inoichi talked to the sensei. Kei would take the girl while Naruto and Shikamaru figured out which guy they would talk to.

"Woah! What is that?" Naruto stopped and stared at a rising cloud of brown. The weird creature twisted up into the air before flattening out on the top. Naruto scrunched his eyes before pointing and saying, "Someone's up there!" A tuft of red hair stuck up from upon the pillar as a form walked across the plateau. The sand ripped under the man's feet before dispersing, sending particles scattering in all directions.

Naruto's eyes widened and he sped up towards the training grounds as the boy made no sign of catching himself. Instead, he limply fell towards the ground, quickly picking up speed. He ignored his sensei as he skittered on towards the training clearing. He was too late. Naruto skidded to a stop right outside of the field as the cloud of sand swirled up to catch the falling boy.

Naruto's teammates ran to catch up to him before stopping to look at the spectacle. "How did he do that? There wasn't even a handsign!" Kei exclaimed as she stopped the urge to whip out her notebook. If they caught her taking notes, then the Suna nin would obviously react badly. It would be impossible to say that they weren't spying.

"I don't know..." Naruto murmured. Something felt familiar about the boy, but Naruto knew there was no way he could have ever met him before. **Stupid brat, he's like you. Isn't it obvious by the aura he's giving off? **Naruto twitched as the Kyuubi's voice made its way back into his head. They hadn't been talking unless absolutely necessary or unless Naruto called out to the Kyuubi. But now it seemed that the Kyuubi was going out of its way to talk to him again.

But what did the Kyuubi mean by it was like him? Wait, that meant the boy had to be a container! "I'm talking to that one," Naruto said quickly, gesturing at the red headed boy. Shikamaru tilted his head in confusion before nodding. He didn't particularly want to talk with the boy in any case.

"Hey, you four! What do you think you're doing?" A loud voice called out and they looked to see a man walking towards them. A cloth shielded half of his face, leaving a solitary eye to stare them down. None of the genin backed down as the jounin neared.

Inoichi stepped forward and said, "We should we asking you that. It's 3pm already. We have this training ground book for the next two hour shift."

"Oh really now? I heard that we had this space booked from 1pm to 4pm," said the jounin with a mocking eye.

"It must have been an accident because I received a notice stating that we had it from 3pm to 5pm," Inoichi said simply. His calming smile seemed to relax the man because his posture slumped slightly from its uptight position. "I'm sorry that this has happened though. My name is Yamanaka Inoichi by the way. I am of Konohagakure. These are my three students: Shimizu Kei, Uzumaki Naruto, and Nara Shikamaru. And you are?"

"I am Baki of Sunagakure. These are Sabaku Temari, Sabaku Gaara, and Sabaku Kankuro. Your apology is accepted." Baki nodded after gesturing to all three of his genin. The three had gathered around behind him and were standing silently as if waiting for an order.

"It would be a pity if we had to have a standoff to figure out who is allowed to use the grounds. Even if we communicated to the director, it would take up most of the hour. Shall we just spar with one another for the rest of the hour? I'm sure Suna would like to check out the competition, no?" Inoichi said smoothly. His tone was light and his face was cheerful, but not needlessly so. If Naruto hadn't known better, he would have thought that this was all spontaneous.

"Humph. That is all right with us. Gaara-san, you go first." Baki and Inoichi shared a look. Obviously, Baki was trying to make a strong impression in the beginning. Considering the fact that they had already seen Gaara in action, this would just compound the fact. This was going to be a race out of the gate to show who had the upper hand.

"Naruto-kun, would you like to go first?" Inoichi had overhead their little conversation and was smiling kindly at his student. Secretly, he was worried. Gaara obviously had a lot of talent and he had probably had at least twice as much training. He would have chosen Naruto to go against the boy in any case because Naruto was their strongest offensive type. Kei and Shikamaru wouldn't have stood a chance with someone would could control sand so easily. Inoichi could only hope that Naruto would be able to hold him off.

"Ten minute battle. Don't kill each other or break any bones. Bruises and sprains are fair game. Drawing blood is also within boundaries. Does this work for you, Yamanaka-san?" Baki said as he began to walk off to the side of the field, leaving Naruto and Gaara staring at each other.

"Yes, it works well." This meant that Naruto only had to survive for ten minutes for it to be a draw. It wasn't that Inoichi didn't have faith in Naruto, but he doubted that Shirakumo had managed to teach Naruto enough of his affinity yet.

Naruto looked at Gaara carefully. He didn't seem physically strong, so that meant he had a high chakra base and relied heavily on his tailed beast. If he could trust what the Kyuubi said, that is. Somehow, he didn't get the feeling that the Kyuubi was lying. The kinship he felt was Gaara was too abnormal for it to be anything else.

He took in a deep breath before sighing. "Looks like you've warmed up ahead of me! But let's have a good match, eh?" He said cheerily. He repeated in the back of his mind: don't use kage bunshin, don't use kage bunshin. Inoichi would recognize the forbidden jutsu almost instantly, and Naruto couldn't let that happen. He just hoped that he wouldn't lose control in battle.

He had talked to Shirakumo two days ago to ask about his affinity, but it wasn't as if he had learned any jutsu. He might be able to augment his kunai to make them fly faster, but that was about it. Naruto swallowed. Hopefully this would work out.

"A good match? Good is in the eye of the beholder. The only thing that will be good for me is if I crush you into dust," Gaara said cruelly as he uncrossed his arms. He rotated his head from side to side, making a loud crack. "I have ten minutes to make your life living hell. So we had better get started, now hadn't we?"

Naruto blanched. Gaara was just as scary as he appeared.

* * *

**Author's Notes: Hey all! I hope you enjoyed the chapter! (: Though it does seem that I have contracted a cold. Bear with me until I get better. I may be a bit of a klutz for the next week or so. So if I write something that doesn't make sense, tell me. I accidentally wrote Inoichi as Kurenai until I realized my mistake. /facepalm/.**

**Thank you so much for continuing to beta me, Pokepikachu1! And thanks to you for reading this story! I really appreciate all the support. :D Review to give me suggestions, comments, or questions?**


	19. His Arrogance

Pretend inferiority and encourage his arrogance.  
**-Sun Tzu**

Chapter 18: His Arrogance

"Ten minutes, just ten minutes." Naruto repeated the words over and over in his head like a mantra. The more he looked at Gaara, the more nervous he felt. He knew that he was probably the strongest, no, he was definitely the strongest of his team, but that didn't make him feel any better. He felt more like a sacrifice to an evil monster. He took a deep breath in and breathed out, trying to stop himself from shaking. He must have looked pathetic at that moment because the way Gaara twisting the sand around his arm scared him silly!

Baki stood off to the side with his hands clasped behind his back. He looked from Naruto and then to Gaara with a discerning eye. In his heart, he worried that Gaara might suddenly attack and try to murder Naruto. But he knew that this was something that had to be done. Now, he was watching Gaara. In the arena, he wouldn't be able to stop Gaara if something happened, but now he would be able to see if Gaara had control. He knew that the Kazekage wanted his children entered into the chuunin exams, but if Gaara was going to be a danger, Baki would withdraw his approval.

The Sabaku genin were like children to him. He had been their personal trainer for many years now, and they were all as close to him as they were to each other. He liked to think of himself as a permanent fixture in their lives. He was the father figure, and as that father figure, if he thought that they were not ready for the exams, he would pull his approval. He was their jounin sensei; if he said they weren't ready, then they could not be entered. He took in a deep breath and unclasped his hands.

He raised his right hand into the air and began the countdown. "Three," Naruto loosened his stance and slipped open his kunai pouch. "Two," the gourd on Gaara's back dissolved away into thousands upon thousands of small particles and drifted through the air. "One," the two combatants shared a look, one was confident while the other was nervous. Both felt as if they already knew the outcome of this match, but one didn't like what he was foreseeing. "Begin!" Baki's hand shot down and the two leapt into action.

A wave of sand shot towards Naruto, and he rolled to the side to dodge past it. He landed on his feed and jumped up toward Gaara. He threw an experimental kunai only to have it blocked by a swirl of sand. An eye glanced behind him, and he saw the sand coming up from behind him. He moved to dodge it, but was instead hit by another surge of sand, tossing him a few feet over to the side. Ok, kunai wouldn't work. And that dratted sand could move separately, not just as a single unit. This would be, as Shikamaru called it, troublesome.

Naruto knew that he wasn't the strategic type. He had no clue as to how on earth he would be able to penetrate that sand. He stopped for a moment to look at Gaara. The red head was casually standing with his arms crossed over his chest. A sand dome surrounded him, but caved near his face to provide him a view out into the world. Obviously, the strength of the sand had something to do with the demon inside of him. The Kyuubi had made it obvious enough that Gaara was stronger than most genin.

There was no way he could beat a jinchuuriki using normal tactics, but he had no control over the Kyuubi. Gaara and his creature seemed to work in sync, but Naruto had to let the Kyuubi take over if he wanted to use its power. Naruto bit his lip. He couldn't just release the Kyuubi. He had killed Aoi last time that happened. Who knew if he would accidentally move to kill all of the Sun delegation? No, he had to do this on his own. But what could he do with a few kunai and a blunted wind affinity?

Pretty much nothing. Naruto made up his mind right then. He'd have to run and dodge like the dickens. Another swell came at him, and Naruto leaped to the side. He had to at least pretend that he was fighting. Hopefully, Gaara wouldn't become irritated with the monotony of the weak attacks. Naruto pulled out a few more kunai and hurled them simultaneously at Gaara. As he expected, the kunai sunk into the sand before falling out onto the ground.

Naruto cursed the fact that he wasn't allowed to use explosive notes. Explosive notes would be taken as a sign of hostility and could spark political wars. Naruto couldn't afford that. So what else could he use against the sand? He knew that Kei and Shikamaru would analyze the actions and movements of the sand to predict how it would react to certain stimuli, but he just couldn't think of it on the fly. His thoughts got the better of him as he got hit was a slam of sand, sending him careening back into a tree.

It was a testament to Gaara's restraint that Naruto didn't go flying right through the tree. Gaara had his eyes closed and his arms were clenched tightly against his chest. It was obvious to anyone how much he was holding back. He was dying to crush the boy and get it over with, but he could feel Baki's eyes boring into him. He may not have felt close to anyone, but he didn't want to face the reprimands of his tutor. They would be annoying and would waste his time. So instead, he tried his best to talk down the Shukaku who was trying to convince him to murder the blonde.

The Shukaku said something about how the blonde was his natural enemy. Gaara didn't quite understand that though. Shukaku had never said anything like that about any of the other people they had met. Why was this Naruto boy so different? He opened up an eye to look at the boy who was getting up from the ground. He looked like all the other genin. Maybe he was a bit shabbily dressed, but the Shukaku had never been known to wage fashion wars of all things.

**He's the Kyuubi, you fool! He's the nine-tails! We must force the possessor to bring the Kyuubi out into the open. I have longed to taste the copper of his blood for many years. It has been too long since we have met.**Gaara froze at that and shook his head ever so slightly. He didn't want to do that. He had been explicitly told to not kill the boy. But how he longed to watch him bleed. Wait... Gaara's eyes widened a bit.

The only rules were not to kill each other and to not break bones. Baki had even said that drawing blood was allowed. A cruel smile crept onto Gaara's face. He raised a hand and flexed out his fingers. The sand shot after Naruto, shredding up against his skin. Naruto yelped as his shoulder turned warm with blood. The jinchuuriki jumped back and flipped up into the air, throwing a kunai. The sand that had been rushing after him moved back to catch the kunai, buying Naruto some time.

Or at least, that was what Naruto had thought. As the blonde scurried farther down the field, his arm began to tingle. He didn't notice it at first because he thought it was just blood loss, but then pain bloomed along his arm. Dozens upon dozens of sand particles had made their way into his wound and had crept under his skin. Upon Gaara's cue, they all propelled straight through Naruto's skin and out into the open air.

Naruto yelped as a large chunk of his skin was ripped away by the attack. He stumbled down to the ground and tried to keep himself going through the pain. He didn't worry too much about the injury, the Kyuubi would heal him. But he did worry about how much it freaking hurt! He looked back over to where Baki was, and the man held up his hand with all five fingers out. Dangit. They were only at the halfway mark.

Naruto wasn't sure if he knew how much longer he could stall.**You stupid brat! This show you're putting on is disgraceful to me. I personally don't care if you get beaten to a pulp, but I'm not going to let Shukaku be the one to do it. You're making me look weak for having such a pathetic container. Let me help you.**Naruto shook his head violently. To someone else, it might have looked like he was trying to clear his head, but to him it was a silent denial to the Kyuubi. Naruto wouldn't ever risk a possession over something as small as this.

**Oh come on, brat. I'm not going to possess you. Just do all the handsigns that I tell you to do. Got it?**Naruto hesitated. It was only a jutsu though, so what harm could it do? Gaara probably had the same healing factor that Naruto did, and he still had the sand to protect him. Naruto rationalized that it would probably be ok to use a jutsu even if he didn't know what it did. His chakra stores were enough to deal with it after all.

**Good, brat. Now listen closely.**Naruto rolled out of the way of an incoming surge of sand, and listened intently to the sound of the Kyuubi. The Kyuubi had always made his life miserable, but it was also strong. Strength was what he needed right now if he was to avoid taking an even worse beating from Gaara.**Dog, Ram, Monkey, Dog, Boar, Bird, Serpent, Dragon, Tiger.**Naruto's hands flew through the seals as he continued swerving out of the way of the sand.

His hands fell into the final seal and he yelled, "**Tsuin Tatsumaki no Jutsu!**" He separated his hands and held them off to the sides. For a few moments, it looked like nothing was about to happen. Naruto almost began to panic. Had the Kyuubi fooled him? But then, the jutsu snapped into action.

Twin tornados began swirling up from the ground, reaching up just so their edges touched Naruto's hands. His hair whipped back and forth as it was blown around by the cyclones. The funnels of air reached up a good twenty feet above his head and effectively stopped any sand coming towards him. When the sand flew at him the next time, it was immediately sucked into the torrent of wind and was shot out the top a few second later.

Naruto moved his hand to the side and noticed that the tornados moved with him and grinned. This was pretty awesome! Gaara frowned at the tornados as his clothes flapped around him in the wind. He crossed his arms and closed his eyes to concentrate before opening them and sending a new wave towards Naruto.

Naruto ran forwards towards the sand and brought his hands forward in front of him. The two cyclones converged and strengthened as all the chakra was channeled into a single space. The sand was sucked up into the current and was flung away into the air. Naruto neared Gaara, and Gaara could feel the sand being stripped away from him. The redhead leaped back and tried to regroup his cloud of sand. A jutsu of that magnitude could not be sustained forever, but this was a jinchuuriki. Who knew how long the boy could keep this up?

Gaara gritted his teeth and tried to ignore the angry voice shouting inside his head.**The only way for you to win is if you set me free! Let me crush him and grind him into dust. You're too weak and pathetic to finish this job, so let me do it!**Gaara was fighting a two front war. One battle was with Naruto, but the other was with the Shukaku. He couldn't afford to lose either.

He raised his hands in the air and formed an arrow out of solidified sand. He condensed it so that it wouldn't easily fall apart before sending it at the cyclone. Gaara redirected the arrow so that it wouldn't hit any vitals, but it would be enough to knock the boy off his feet.

Naruto saw the arrow coming and forced more chakra into the jutsu. He layered his hands over each other and held his hands before him. The arrow neared and cut through the first layer of the tornado. Naruto's eyes widened in shock, and he was hit with the dulled force of the mound of sand. The jutsu didn't disperse even as he was pushed back a few feet. The sand didn't have any more time to damage him anymore as it got funneled away.

Naruto glanced over at Baki and saw him cup his hand into a half circle. Thirty seconds left. Naruto grinned. He could do this. He looked back over to Gaara who was glaring vehemently at him. Only small wisps of sand surrounded him now. Naruto snapped off the jutsu and grabbed some kunai from his pocket and flung them at him.

The remnants of sand curled into the air and attempted to stop the kunai, but only managed to stop two out of the three. The third flew past the defense and hit Gaara in the arm. Gaara shook as he looked down to his arm. Bits of blood trickled down from his sleeve before splashing onto the ground. "Over!" Baki called out, ending the spar. He rushed up to Gaara and jerked the kunai out. "Don't look at it." He said as he put a hand over the injury. Naruto raised an eyebrow at this. Why was Baki acting like it was something of vital importance? He had ended the spar six seconds early. Naruto had counted those seconds like they were his lifeline and he knew that they had ended early.

"Glad to see that you're alive," said Shikamaru as he sauntered over. Secretly, Shikamaru was proud of Naruto. What confused him, however, was where on earth that jutsu had come from. He highly doubted that Shirakumo had managed to teach him such a jutsu in the little time that they had together. He glanced over at Kei who had her face furrowed as she looked through her notebook. Beside her, Inoichi had a slight frown on his face.

That jutsu that Naruto had just performed was not a genin ranked jutsu. So, where did he learn it? Inoichi made a mental note to talk to Shirakumo about it later. There was a faint chance of him learning the jutsu from Shirakumo, but they had only a few weeks practice. Inoichi highly doubted that it was possible. But where else could he have learned it? That was what puzzled him.

Kei was staring at her ciphered paged of forbidden jutsu. She flipped to the fourth page and nearly screamed. There, on the page, was the**Tsuin Tatsumaki**. What did Naruto think he was doing, using a forbidden jutsu in front of Inoichi? Better yet, when had Naruto learned it? Naruto didn't have that type of memory which allowed him to remember words on a page for longer than a few days. And she was sure that she never gave him a normal copy of the list. It was impossible for him to remember how to do that!

Could it have something to do with the Kyuubi? She supposed that the Kyuubi could remember things that Naruto couldn't and then feed the memories back to him. She bit her lip tightly as she thought over all the scenarios. Her golden eyes flicked over to Inoichi, and she noticed his troubled look. It seemed that he noticed the jutsu was above Naruto's level as well. Hopefully this wouldn't get them in trouble. She looked back to Naruto and began to walk over to join him. If she looked troubled by it as well, then Inoichi's suspicion would double. She had to act like everything was normal.

"Good job, Naruto-san," she called over as she approached her two teammates. As she turned away from Inoichi she had a slightly peeved look on her face. Naruto was quick to catch up on it and signaled that he would talk to them about it later.

He looked over to the Suna Team and watched as Baki patched up Gaara. The two other Sabaku siblings were standing awkwardly off to the side, talking with one another. They didn't seem to care for one another. Perhaps this would a lead to an intra-team division? Shikamaru followed his gaze over to Temari and Kankuro and said, "They're both rather loud. They aren't concealing much, in my opinion. The brother practically told me his life story while we watched the fight. Either it's a deception to make us feel safe or it's plainly obvious that they're not our enemies."

Naruto nodded. "I...I don't think they are against us. Call it a hunch if you will." From his fight with Gaara, he could tell the importance of the Suna-Konoha relations to them. Gaara was obviously fighting to control himself during the entire battle. Even though they had set up sparring rules, an enemy would have at least tried to slip in a fatal "mistake" or two. But Gaara had had the chance to kill him easily and didn't take it. The sand could have traveled down to an internal organ and ripped something vital, but instead all it did was tear a little skin.

Naruto lifted his hand from his arm and noticed that the bleeding had already stopped and the wound had begun to heal over. It was superficial enough to hardly cause him any damage. He couldn't bring himself to think that Gaara was an enemy, but they didn't have any confirmation yet. All he had was a hunch.

"Hunches are what will get you killed." Shikamaru replied smoothly. "Evidence is what ensures survival."

* * *

**Author's Note: A bit of a shorter chapter, but I hoped you liked it. Evidently, not many people liked the last chapter. xD So, I hope this makes up for it?**

**I know some of you guys are going to be confused with how the Kyuubi knew the jutsu. I'll give you a hint though. The Kyuubi is contained. Even though the Kyuubi is talking to Naruto, he doesn't possess him. (;**

**Thanks to Pokepikachu1 for betaing me again! And thanks to all of you for reading! Leave a review and tell me what you think! ;D**

**Tsuin Tatsumaki no Jutsu| B Rank of Wind Affinity. Labeled a forbidden jutsu because it causes significant drain on the user. Produces two tornados, one from each hand. Tornados center on the user and cannot travel away from their summoner.**


	20. His Present

Let him who would enjoy a good future waste none of his present.  
**-Roger Babson**

Chapter 19: His Present

There wasn't enough time. Kei resurfaced from the water, spraying droplets all over Kakashi. The white haired man gave a sigh and wiped the water off of him. "The point of the exercise is to mold the water into a bubble for you to breath, not for you to hold your breath."

"I was under there for ten minutes! What more do you want? You know that I don't have the levels to stay under for hours like you do," snapped Kei as she bobbed up and down in the small pond. Training for the exams was coming along very slowly indeed. She had managed to pester Kakashi into spending some time with her, but the man was as irritating as ever. At the rate she was going, there was absolutely no chance of her finding any offensive jutsu.

"All right. I'll admit stamina is your weak point. That's why we're training you though. You have good control, but not enough power or stamina. So go back down again and try for fifteen minute this time," drawled Kakashi. His lone eye looked over to the side where Kiba and Sasuke were sparring with one another. This irritated Kei.

"Look here, Kakashi-sensei. With all due respect, I need real advice. I'll practice this on my own, but I need to figure out some jutsu to use. That's why I'm here, not to become a living fish." Kei shook her head and drenched Kakashi again, finally earning his undivided attention.

"You're a brat. I hope you know that because you're really beginning to irritate me." The smile was hidden behind the mask, but Kei could still feel the soft waves of killer intent coming from the man. She huffed and stared at him quietly. They glared at each other before Kakashi finally gave in.

"Fine. Get out of there, and we'll talk about it." Kei scrambled out of the pond and carefully swept away from her pile of belongings, trying not to get her notebook wet. She sat cross-legged on the grass and waited for Kakashi to sit down in front of her. "You've studied anatomy, I presume?"

Kei nodded and recalled the various tomes of medical data that she had been scanning over. Tsume had planned on her becoming a passable medic, so anatomy had been the first thing she studied. She had yet to try anything other than chakra scans though.

"Right." Kakashi sighed and said, "Then I assume you know all the pressure points and which ones disable?" Kei flinched unconsciously before nodding. It was too reminiscent of when she had stabbed Naruto with her senbon. Kakashi quirked an eyebrow at her reaction, but shrugged it off. He had heard enough of the story from Inoichi to understand what had happened.

"The pressure points don't have to be hit by senbon. A strong enough blow would be enough to trigger the response you want." Kei's eyes lit up in realization.

"Water senbon? Would that really work, Kakashi-sensei?" Mentally, she began calculating the water pressure that would be needed to activate the different pressure points. Of course there would be changes depending on where the point was placed and the thickness of skin, but there was no reason for it not to work.

"I wouldn't be suggesting it to you if it didn't work. Just because I'm their sensei," Kakashi gestured over to the now squabbling genin, "doesn't mean that I'd try to sabotage you."

"It doesn't hurt to be careful, Kakashi-sensei." Kei's smile didn't quite reach her eyes as she turned to grab her notebook. She undid the clasp and gingerly flipped to a quarter of the way through the book and said, "So, tell me about these water senbon."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow before huffing. "All right. **Gyoushuku Mizu no Hari no Jutsu **is a fairly simple technique. It's C ranked just because most people can't find a use for it. But, I think it could be more helpful for you. The water senbon can be crafted up to ten feet from the caster and can be sent anywhere where the caster wills it to go. This means you can attack from multiple angles at the same time."

Kakashi weaved the hand signs together and Kei watched with absorbed interest as a senbon grew in midair. "How did you do that?" She asked as she got up to examine the water. It floated in the air, and Kei looked at it closely. It was surprisingly difficult to see because it was so pure and transparent. It would be good for stealth since it wouldn't have the silvery shine of a senbon.

"The jutsu requires some practice because you have to force the water to coalesce to create the senbon. You could drag the water out from a canteen or something of the like, but it would lose the transparency factor due to contamination. You're already able to manipulate water fairly well, even if I sometimes say otherwise. This is the same concept, but it's on a smaller scale and you're pulling in rather than pushing away. Got it?" Kakashi looked up at Kei with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Kei didn't notice until it was too late and Kakashi had exploded the senbon in her face, drenching her once more. "KAKASHI-SENSEI!"

-TSUME-

Shikamaru waved goodbye as his father exited the house. Shikaku was heading to a clan head meeting as per usual. And as per usual, he didn't think it was necessary to lock the door to his office. As soon as the door slid shut, Shikamaru headed off to the office. His mother was out shopping, and no one would visit the main house as long as his parents were gone. It was the perfect chance to end all this verbal sparring and figure out if Shikaku was really on their side or not.

Shikamaru slipped down the hallways before grasping the door handle. He took in a deep breath before pulling the door open. The panel creaked open, and Shikamaru stepped inside. Never before had his father's office seemed so dark. Shikamaru was filled with apprehension as he moved behind his father's desk. The compartment that stood out to him was the one that was locked. Fortunately, Shikamaru had planned ahead.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a bent piece of wire. It was yellow and fashioned from a paperclip, but it was much more valuable as it was now. He had taken his father's key and had formed a makeshift key along the ridges. It was a pin tumbler lock, so all he needed was the formation of the ridges and a little hook at the end for it to work. He stuck the piece of metal into the lock and prodded it until the very back. Then he slowly turned it to the side and let the lock click open. Shikamaru sighed with relief and let the metal hang inside the lock as he opened the compartment.

He pulled out a small stack of papers and riffled through them, looking only for the headers of the sheets. Things such as 'deer conservation project' did not matter to him much. It was only when he reached the very last file that he stopped. He dropped the other files on the desk and looked at that one in particular. It was labeled, 'Metamorphosis'. Shikamaru immediately opened the file to see various letters from members of the council and from the clan head meetings.

Shikamaru swallowed. Could this be incriminating evidence? He dropped the file onto the desk and stared at the letters. He only took a moment before snapping into action. He grabbed a spare sheet of blank paper and scribbled notes onto it. The messages were all vague, talking about projects and missions. Shikamaru gritted his teeth. This was all much too troublesome, but he had to report this, even if it was his father. This was his duty.

-TSUME-

Naruto leaned back against the thin pillow and sighed. He was still thinking about the duel with Gaara. The Kyuubi had really saved him there. Naruto knew that without the Kyuubi, he probably would have been trampled. It hurt his pride to say it, but he was almost thankful to the Kyuubi for helping him. He heard a snort inside his head and said, "What do you want now?" The convenient thing about being alone was the fact he could talk out loud without looking insane.

**I hurt your pride, brat? You nearly destroyed mine by acting so pathetically yesterday.** Naruto snorted in reply. "Yeah, it's as if you've helped me so much before." Naruto paused before saying, "Thanks though. I couldn't have done it without you."

Naruto could hear the Kyuubi sniggering inside his mind. Naruto rolled his eyes and tried to calm the annoyance in his chest. **You humans are so difficult sometimes. Of course you couldn't have done it without me, brat. It's not as if I want you to lose or to suffer though. You're the one that is making this all difficult.**

Naruto's face scrunched up in confusion. "What do you mean by that? I'm not doing anything to you! Unless talking counts, that is." The Kyuubi sighed in irritation. **You have the mental capacity of a gnat. Do you really think that I can just waltz around your mind and not encounter any difficulties? Not all resistances are conscious, brat.**

"Call me Naruto. But what kind of resistance?" Naruto asked curiously. The Kyuubi was speaking as if his mind was a space instead of just a mass inside of his skull. **If you ask me to call you Naruto, then you will call me Kurama. And stop thinking so much. It's distracting considering you're just thinking stupid thoughts. **Naruto grunted and rolled his eyes. **Don't sass me, boy. Do you want me to talk to you or not?**

"Fine. I'll try to keep quiet." Naruto grumbled and rolled onto his side. **Good, Naruto brat. But do you really think that your mind and your brain are the same thing? That's pathetically sad if it's true. Your mind is how I'm talking to you right now, but your brain is the gray matter inside your tiny little skull.**

"Can you talk without insulting me?" Naruto snapped angrily.

**Actually no, I can't, but back to the bloody point. I inhabit your mind, not your brain. Your mind is an entirely different field. It's a labyrinth with corridors leading to all sorts of different doors. The paths change all the time, so it's hard for me to navigate. However, your emotions change the weather inside of this hell hole. Your shock is lightening, your fear is rain, your happiness is fog, and your anger is a powerful wind.**

"What about sun?" Naruto asked slowly. **Ha! Are you joking? Your mind is never sunny. Your hatred for me is enough to keep all the weather abysmal. The only time I can get through to you is when you are either angry or fearful. Rain and wind are easier to see through than fog, that's why I can help you then. Most of the time, I get lost in your mind when you are happy. Even if you wanted my company, I could not give it.**

Naruto grimaced. He hadn't really thought of his mind as a space like that. Considering that the Kyuubi, Kurama, was living in it, he should have been more mindful. "Sorry about that. Is there any way for me to change it?"

**I would not know. My last container was much like you save for the fact she had typhoons instead of mere storm clouds. I rarely talked to her at all, and most of my time then was miserable. **"I don't particularly want to stop being happy, so I'll try to see if there is anything I can do to change that. Sorry about that, Kurama. But thanks for still helping me through everything. I appreciate it."

**Bah. It's nothing. I only helped you to help myself after all.** Naruto smiled.

-TSUME-

Inoichi slipped onto the barstool and leaned onto the wooden bar. He looked over to the side at the gray haired man who was sipping his drink. Shirakumo sighed at the arrival of his companion and set his mug down to look over at Inoichi. "What are you here for, Yamanaka-san? I've been keeping up with Naruto-kun and his training if you are here for that. It's not as if I have many duties of my own at the moment."

Inoichi shook his head and ordered sake from the lady passing by. "I wanted to ask you about that actually. A few days ago, Naruto-kun and Sabaku-san from Suna had a duel. The youngest Sabaku-san." Inoichi clarified.

Shirakumo raised an eyebrow. "Did he now? He's still alive, so I suppose that is a good sign. The boy from Suna seems strong. It's hard to ignore his practices. He's too flashy for my tastes, but what about it? I assume something happened in the duel if you are bringing it up."

Inoichi sighed. Shirakumo knew him all too well. "It's about a jutsu Naruto-kun used to win the match. He called it **Tsuin Tatsumaki no Jutsu**. It's like no wind jutsu that I have seen before. Have you heard of it?"

Shirakumo furrowed his brow and tilted his head to the side in thought. He was silent for a moment before shaking his head. "No, I have not heard of it. I certainly did not teach him it. When I last checked on him, he had managed all of the preliminary wind affinity exercises. He must have been practicing very hard on the mission because he had taken great leaps in his training."

Inoichi frowned in confusion. Naruto had periodically disappeared for fifteen or so minutes, but he had never been gone long enough to do much practice. Even then, Naruto had never looked fatigued after disappearing. There was no opportunity to do much training. What was going on here? "Ah." Inoichi kept his answer neutral as he picked up his small cup of sake. He sipped it before putting it back down on the counter. "Tell me if you hear anything about the jutsu. I can't help but have a bad feeling about it."

"He could have developed his skills from his mother, you know. Kushina-chan was a talented sealswoman, and she created quite a few jutsu of her own. She made her first when she was only twelve, so it's not out of the realm of possibility." Shirakumo commented, sipping his own drinking again. "I can talk to him if you want."

"No, I'll do it," Inoichi said quickly. If Naruto was able to make jutsu, then Inoichi couldn't risk the possibility of the other side knowing. He regretted the fact that Shirakumo had to be placed under suspicion, but it was an unfortunate necessity. "Thank you for the offer though. I had best be going. I will see you later, Hayama-san."

Shirakumo nodded back to Inoichi before turning back to the bar.

-TSUME-

A man's voice echoed out from the end of the alley. "I trust that we are all here?" At the affirmative of one of the people gathered in the cramped street, the man continued. "We all know what we are here for. The Hokage has been ruling this village for too long. He has become weak. It's pathetic how this village has become. It deserves better than this, and we all know it. Even now, it is plagued by corruption within the ranks. Shinobi are manipulating the system to hurt civilians, civilians we have sworn to protect with our lives. It's monstrous that this has been allowed to continue so long. It's a sign that Hiruzen Sarutobi has slowly descended down the path of senility. Do you agree with me?"

A few woops were heard down the hall, and one girl cheered loudly. "Heck yeah! One rotten egg ruins it for the rest of us. We gotta do something!" The man at the front smiled at the young girl's energy. It was good to have genin such as her along on such an important mission. He had been surprised at the sheer size of the genin recruits that had come to support them. He had originally hoped for one or two at best, but there were well over four! It was incredibly lucky that they had managed to find so many.

"Our allies have been in contact with us and the plan is now confirmed. Don't worry, child. We'll overthrow the man and bring Konoha back to its era of prosperity. The chuunin exams will be the time for us to strike! Genin!" All the genin turned to look back at their leader. "It is your duty to reach the finals of the tournament. We will need as many of you in the final arena as possible. We have friends within the proctors, so they will help you, but do not let that mean you can slack. Strength shall be the new foundation of Konoha. Stay strong!"

"Hoorah!" One of the male genin shouted with a wave of his fist. "We won't let you down. Come on, guys! Let's get back to practicing. We'll take this thing by storm!" The genin cheered and followed the boy out of the alleyway, leaving the street much less cramped than before.

The elder man chuckled. "The rest of you must prepare as well. We'll begin the revolution at the finals when all of the dignitaries are gathered together. It will be easiest for our allies to assemble our own forces there. You all know the plan. Some of you will split off to the arena while the others take their stations around the village. Make sure you know the plan, stay behind if you do not. Now disperse!" He watched with grim satisfaction as all of the crowd, shinobi and civilian, left to return to their homes. This was going along exactly as planned.

* * *

**Author's Note: Hey guys! Someone PMed me a few days ago, and I realized that I might not have explained this clearly. Team Tsume is named after a move in Shogi called Tsumeshogi. It's a move where your goal is to checkmate the opponent's King. Sorry if this caused any confusion with Inuzuka Tsume! I completely forgot about her!**

**MODERATELY IMPORTANT: I've gotten quite a few PMs asking me about pairings. I had never really thought about it much, but I guess I'm fairly easy to manipulate. I put up a poll on my profile to see how many would you would like for there to be a pairing in here. It'll be up for two weeks. (: I hope you vote!**

**Thanks to Pokepikachu1 for betaing me! I can't believe you're so patient with me since I nearly always send these late. xD Thank you!**

**And thanks to all of you for reading this fic! I'm so glad that everyone likes this story, and it inspires me to continue doing better and better. Much appreciated!**

**Gyoushuku Mizu no Hari no Jutsu| C Rank of Water Affinity. Condenses water in the air to create senbon. These senbon can be created anywhere within ten feet of the user and can be fired at multiple targets depending on the ability of the user.**


	21. Digging My Own Grave

We knew we were talking about spies. I knew he knew I knew. I was digging my own grave.  
**-Christine Keeler**

Chapter 20: Digging My Own Grave

Kei wondered how she got herself into this situation. "Dango! Dango!" The blonde flew along the streets with Kei in tow. Kei tripped along behind Ino, chest heaving as she went. Kei was not particularly fit, nor did she pretend to be. She was decently good at evading people, but tripping along busy lanes of traffic was not her style. She slammed into a man and barely got out an apology before being hurling into a woman ambling by.

"Yamanaka-san! Please slow down!" Kei called out as she tumbled into another person, mumbling a hurried apology on the way. Kei wasn't exactly a people person. It was taking her all of her restraint not to try and escape Ino's grip and run for some lonely tree. If she climbed up into the branches, no one could disturb her there.

"We're almost there, Kei-chan!" Ino giggled as they made their way through the commercial district. They skidded to a stop, well, Ino skidded to a stop and Kei collided into her. "See? That wasn't too bad, was it?"

Kei had her hands on her knees, her notebook having fallen on the ground. She wheezed in and out, trying to catch her breath. "It was bad." Kei moaned before picking her notebook from the ground. She dusted off the binding before looking up to see Ino sticking her face directly into Kei's. Kei started back before sighing. She had to remind herself to keep her temper around Ino. "So, where is this dango stand?"

"Hehe! It's right over here! Isn't it fun going out to eat together, Kei-chan? It's the big day after all." Ino winked as she skipped along the stone paving towards the stand across the plaza. Kei gave a dejected sigh. That was right. It was the chuunin exams. Kei was not nearly as excited as her counterpart was.

"H-hey! Stop it! We already gave you everything!" Both girls looked over at the sound of the weak voice to see one of the stand owners quivering beside his small shack. A lean man loomed over the owner with an arrogant smirk on his face.

"Oh, is it now? I highly doubt that. Wretches like you always try to get away with something. We protect your bloody lives at the cost of our own. I think we deserve something a bit more than this measly amount of money. Now where is it?!" The shinobi yelled angrily, his spit flying onto the shopkeeper's face. The small man squealed in fright and backed into the wooden structure, rapidly realizing there was nowhere to go.

Kei frowned and took a step towards the man, about to ask him to stop. However, someone moved faster than her. Ino's smile fell off her face and a kunai slipped into her hand. "Disgusting." The blonde said quietly. Ino increased her pace as she headed towards the shinobi, "Miserable, disgusting, pathetic, lying, cheating, treacherous..." She muttered the words under her breath as a dark haze entered her eyes.

She walked up right behind the shinobi and raised her kunai, about to stab him in the back when Kei snapped into action. "**Gyoushuku Mizu no Hari no Jutsu!**" She flew through the handsigns, feeling the chakra run through her arms. She held out her hands before her as a single water needle formed in the air before sending it at Ino. The senbon flew, striking Ino's wrist with enough force to get her to drop the kunai, but not enough to hurt her.

The kunai clattered onto the stone, and the shinobi whirled around to see the glowering girl. "You had better leave," said Kei as she approached Ino, grabbing the girl's wrist. "I don't think it's wise for you to stay here or to ever come back." The shinobi snarled, but looked from the girls to the kunai on the ground.

"This will not be the end." The ninja said to the shop owner before shoving past Kei and Ino, heading back into the busy streets. When Kei lost sight of him, she pulled Ino away from the shopkeeper before turning on her.

"What did you think you were doing, Ino? You could have killed him! Don't tell me that you weren't thinking about it. A kunai stab at that angle could have severed his subclavian. I don't know if we could have hauled him to the hospital fast enough or if they'd have enough time to treat him. You should have just told him off!" Kei said in exasperation. She had never seen this side of Ino before. No, she had. She recalled the distant memory of when Ino's personality had turned dark, and she had insulted her teammates. Was this an extension of that time?

"I don't understand what you're talking about." Ino snorted. "He's a shinobi. It is his duty to protect the people, not hurt them. No, he's not a shinobi. A real shinobi would never act so disgracefully. If he died, what worry is that of mine?"

Kei was astounded. Was this really Ino? "That doesn't give you a reason to take the law into your own hands!"

"If I don't take it into my own hands, then no one will." Ino shot back. "But I'm tired of this. Let's go eat our dango, Kei-chan." Ino reached down, picking up the kunai from the ground and slipping it casually back into her pouch. She patted the weapon's pouch daintily before smiling happily at Kei. "Aren't you hungry too? Let's go!"

Kei looked at Ino with a worried look in her eyes. She wondered if she was wrong about not telling anyone about Ino earlier. What if Ino wasn't fit to participate in the exams because of this? If Kei didn't tell, she could get in trouble or she could accidentally kill someone. But she also knew that Inoichi would hate her and think that she had purposefully disqualified his daughter. Kei bit her lip and nodded. "Mm. That sounds good."

-TSUME-

After finishing their dango, the two headed over to the examination building. There, Shikamaru and Naruto were chatting outside the doors. Kei and Ino immediately headed towards them. "Hey, hey! How are you guys? It's been way, way too long!" Ino chirped as she came closer to the ground.

"I'm good, Ino-chan! How about you?" Naruto said cheerily. He smiled broadly, but he knew something was wrong. There was this subtle downturn of Kei's lips that meant something had happened. He wanted to know what it was, but he couldn't while Ino was there. With any hope, the other blonde would leave them soon.

"Good, good! Kei-chan and I had some dango before coming over here. It was awesome, wasn't it, Kei-chan?"

Kei had a moment's hesitation before saying, "Ah. Yes, it was." It was blatantly obvious to both Naruto and Shikamaru that something must have gone badly wrong for Kei to fail to put up any front of caring whatsoever.

Shikamaru looked from Naruto to Kei before saying, "How do you think your team is going to do, Ino-san?"

Ino's head turned from Naruto over to Shikamaru, and she quieted for a moment, just staring at him. A queer expression entered her eyes, as if she was trying to recall something. She opened her mouth before shutting it again, looking down at the ground. Shikamaru took a step closer to put his hand on her shoulder, but she whipped her head up again and said, "We're going to do fine. I mean, I'll be pulling all the weight because of the two slobs I have on my team, but we'll do well enough."

Shikamaru blinked in confusion before trying to continue as if nothing as if nothing was wrong. He couldn't help but wonder, was this what worried Kei? "I'm sure Chouji-san and Hanagaki-san are not that bad. They've been training alongside you as well, so I bet you've all improved."

"Yah, but I've been doing a ton of outside stuff. Reading Dad's books and stuff." Ino said flippantly. She looked around the crowd before groaning. "Oh no. Here comes fatty and weepy. Please, strike me dead."

Chouji had a wide berth around him, for his size took up a significant portion of the entryway. What Shikamaru noticed was how Chouji stared directly at the ground, not bothering to look up. Shikamaru headed over to his friend and looked him over. Chouji had to have gained 40 pounds at the very least. Now, it wasn't strange for an Akimichi to gain weight, but Chouji had gained it so quickly. He should have only gained half as much as he did. Shikamaru couldn't help but wonder if it was a sign of depression in his old friend.

He glanced back to Ino before looking over at Chouji. The three of them had been great friends since their parents had been so close. Ino had never insulted Chouji back then, so why did she do it now? She knew very well that it was a part of his clan jutsu. She didn't realize how hurtful her words were on the giant, and she clearly didn't notice Chouji's change in behavior. "Hey Chouji-san. You feeling ok?"

"Uh huh. Fine." Chouji replied despondently. Something inside Shikamaru clenched and his teeth gritted. It took all that he had not to go yell at the blonde girl. He'd have to talk to her later. It would do neither of them any good to make a scene out here.

Ryuu had crept up on them, casting wary glances around as he shuffled up to the ground. "They're out to get me. I know they are. They're all around with their lies and knives. They're going to kill me if I don't." He muttered under his breath as his head whipped around whenever someone walked by.

"Oh shut up." Ino complained callously. "No one here is going to kill you. You haven't even gotten in the arena yet, and you're acting like a baby. Be a man, why don't you?"

"But they're here! All around us, and they want to kill us!" Ryuu exclaimed with wide eyes as he turned to look at Ino. "Don't you see and hear them?"

"Oh, do not pull me into your delusions, Hanagaki-san." Ino complained with a sneer. "You're just going to make yourself ill, though admittedly, that isn't really a bad thing."

Naruto look at Ryuu carefully. He knew that Ryuu sounded crazy – no one could deny that - but something in his words rung true to Naruto. Ever since he had received his mission, he heard things differently. Now Ryuu's blabbering didn't sound as much like insanity as it did well-placed suspicion. Could Ryuu know about the rebellion?

"I believe you, Hanagaki-san!" Naruto said merrily, slinging an arm around the smaller boy's shoulder. The blue haired boy started at Naruto's approach and stammered while Ino groaned.

"Please don't encourage him! We're never going to get him to stop rambling about death and destruction at this rate!" Ino moaned, rubbing her face with the palm of her hand.

"Y-you believe me?" Ryuu said in utter shock. Blue strands of hair fell in front of his face as he stared at Naruto. No one had ever believed him before. They all just called him mad or they told him to quit with the conspiracy theories.

"Sure I do! Come over here, and we can talk 'bout it in quiet!" Naruto dragged Ryuu away from Ino and asked, "Have you heard anything else recently?" He had a smile on his face, but his heart was beating fast. This could be the break they were looking for. No one would ever suspect Ryuu because he was, well, Ryuu.

"People have been saying that the exams will be the beginning of something big. I'm scared, you know? I've heard voices that a lot of people are going to die, but that it has to be done. But I don't want people to die, you know? I tried to tell people, but no one listens to me. They just tell me to shut up and quit worrying. You're the only one that has tried to listen, Uzumaki-san." Ryuu nodded urgently, his normally dull eyes brightening ever so slightly. They still retained that slightly crazed look, but Naruto's mind was occupied elsewhere.

If this was true, then it confirmed that the rebellion would happen in the chuunin exams. The revolt they had worried about was now becoming a reality.

-TSUME-

"I'm serious, Hinata-sama. You're being so naive right now." Neji said as he walked with his team towards the chuunin exam area. "Do you really think that ninja don't ever abuse their powers?"

"That is not what I'm saying, Neji-nii-sama!' Hinata exclaimed, waving her arms around emphatically. "I'm just saying is that the capacity for good is better than the capacity for evil! What has gotten into you anyways? It was almost better when you just kept quiet instead of talking so much."

Neji snarled at Hinata, sending her a venomous glare. Hinata had gotten a lot more brash and annoying recently. It irritated him because she didn't respect her position. She was fortunate to be a part of the main house, yet she continued to act like some sort of common rabble. She didn't walk with dignity, nor did she act with it. It was better now that she talked some, but now she took no care with her words. "I suppose you're glad that I have the seal then. Trust that to be like you main house people." He snorted, turning away from the exasperated Hinata.

"Ugh! This is just so stupid." Hinata grumbled, marching ahead of the small group.

Teru perked up when he saw Hinata marching off and turned to Tenten and said, "Looks like I must depart, eh? I'll get to talk to you later, right?"

Tenten nodded and smiled sweetly, "I certainly hope so, Teru-kun!" Teru was such a nice boy. He was very engaging, but he also took time to care about what she thought. Only, it seemed that he only cared what girls thought, but that wasn't particularly important.

"Let's go, bug boy!" Teru said, whacking Shino on the back. Shino stumbled forward and turned to look at Teru. It was impossible to know if he was staring, but something in his body language told that he was infuriated. Or perhaps it was the loud hissing sound that his bugs were making. "Gross as usual, eh? Well come on, we gotta hurry on!"

"Insufferable boy..." Shino murmured under his breath. He gave a curt nod to Lee, who had been trying to engage him in conversation for the past ten minute, before walking ahead into the exam building.

-TSUME-

"Oh shut up. Your brain must be smaller than the one that mutt of yours has if you seriously believe that," Sasuke snarked, rolling his eyes. Beside him, Kiba fumed, clenching a fist angrily.

"Shut up Uchiha-san! Your parents must have all died because they were tired looking at your disgusting face!" Kiba retorted, pleased at the anger that crept onto the other's face. Sasuke shook in fury, his face turning slightly red. He stormed past Kiba and into the doorway, but not before the other called, "And you're too cowardly to stand up for yourself! How they would have been disappointed!"

Sasuke stomped a foot on the ground, and turned back to stare at Kiba, his sharingan whirling. "You imbecile!" He ran at Kiba, lifting up a fist to punch him in the face, only to screech to a stop as Sakura threw herself in-between the two, her arms above her head.

"Stop it!" She screamed, drawing the attention of all those around. She shook in place, obviously terrified of what she was doing. "Y-you could both be disqualified if you strike other competitors on the grounds. I-it's in the rule book that they handed out for participants."

Sasuke stared down at her, an annoyed frown on his face. His gaze flicked back up to Kiba, and he hissed, "This isn't over, Inuzuka-san."

Kiba raised his hands up in the air and smirked, "Never expected it to be! Bring it on whenever you're not too chicken to right me! Oh wait, I mean crow. Right." Sasuke growled before whirling around on his feet, and marching into the building.

-TSUME-

The teams made their way up to the upper level, all easily bypassing the genjutsu hidden at the bottom of the stairs. Some genin solved the clue on their own while others had a little bit of "help" along the way. All of the teams had heard the exact same thing from their mentors: get to know the other competitors. This was a chance to make connections with the other countries, and that was not to be underestimated. However, some of the genin had different purposes. Tsume looked around the room quietly, observing how all the other genin interacted.

Kiba and Sasuke immediately went over to the genin from Oto. To be honest, Kei found them a bit creepy. She didn't like how they looked as if everyone around them were ants or even pieces of meat. She made a mental note to be careful around them. Shino had gone over to the Ame team, leaving his teammates, Teru and Hinata, to chat up the girl from Oto.

"We should try to spread ourselves out over the other countries' teams. Naruto-san, you go to Suna. You seem to get along with them better than any of us." Shikamaru snorted at that. He could hardly call Naruto's tentative relationship 'getting along with them', but it was more than the stares that he and Kei received. "Kei-chan, you go to Kusa. That girl looks a lot like your type, so your personalities would mesh together well."

Kei looked over to see a girl with bright red hair talking with her teammates. Kei turned to Shikamaru and nodded while asking, "Where are you going then?"

"I'll be talking to Kiri. No Konoha genin are talking to them currently, and it would seem awkward if we overcrowded Oto and Ame. We'll split up and meet fifteen minutes before the exams start." Shikamaru looked over to the clock and saw that it was 9am. That meant that they had an hour and fifteen minutes before the games began at 10:30. "Let's split."

Naruto and Kei nodded before dispersing over to their respective groups. Naruto weaved his way through the crowd before stepping into a large opening. He looked around and noticed that all the other genin were giving the team from Suna a large birth, probably because of Gaara. Naruto laughed weakly. He had to say that he sympathized with the other teams. He wouldn't particularly want to be near Gaara either if not for feeling a kind of kinship to the other jinchuuriki.

"Naruto-san." Gaara said blandly, signaling that he noticed Naruto's approach. Gaara scrunched his face up before looking down to the ground. Naruto walked over, slightly confused by the other boy's actions. "We..." Gaara stopped, trying to formulate his words. "We are allies, you and I."

Naruto raised an eyebrow and let out an intelligent, "Huh?" Then it clicked in his head. "So, you've talked with Hokage-sama?" He tried to phrase it vaguely, just like how he knew Shikamaru would do. If Gaara was bluffing, which Naruto doubted because of Gaara's lack of fluency, a slip up could mean that he would slip the whole plan. He shifted slightly, trying to get a read on Gaara's face like he had done with so many others. Unfortunately, Gaara had perfected the poker face, and Naruto couldn't glean a single scrap of information.

"Mmhmm." Gaara said uncomfortably. He looked over to Temari pointedly before turning away from the blonde, preferring to enter a staring contest with the wall. Temari sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

"Right, right. First you demand us to shut up when we talk to them, the next you order us to speak. Make up your mind, won't you, Gaara?" Temari complained. She looked over to Naruto and said, "The Hokage contacted us a few days ago, just after we confronted you. We're to be working with you from now on. Don't get us wrong. We aren't doing this because we like you or anything, but the Hokage promised to subsidize the economy of Suna and to write up a new trade agreement." She huffed in annoyance. She loathed the dependence that Suna now had on Konoha, but she just had to deal with it for a bit longer.

Naruto nods, a sigh of relief escaping him. Finally, they had their first allies. They had been so long without any that it had been beginning to worry him. He was a bit disappointed that the Hokage had to make their allies for them, but an ally was an ally in the end. "So, how has your stay been? Talked to anyone interesting?" Naruto slipped back into his general speaking, causing Temari to make a face. It took her a few moments to catch on, but then she opened her mouth in realization.

"Ahh, yes. We've been talking with some of the civilians. They're quite interesting you know. They quite idolize the clan heads, you know. There were two in particular, but I can't quite remember their names..." Naruto furrowed his brow. He had rather hoped that the betrayal hadn't gone up to the clan heads.

With the clan heads involved, it meant that their children would probably also be coerced into joining the traitors side. He turned his head to look around the room. His gaze landed on Kiba, Hinata, Neji, Chouji, and Shino. Absolutely any of them could be involved at this point. He mentally crossed Shikamaru and Ino off the list because Shikamaru was a known ally, and Ino couldn't be manipulated through Inoichi. So that left the Inuzuka clan, the Hyuuga clan, the Akimichi clan, and the Aburame clan. A one in two guess for picking a traitorous clan, but it wasn't enough.

"It's a pity considering all the clan kids are participating in this exam. You could have met them and learned more about the clans then. You can talk to them later if you want." It was Naruto's silent way of asking that they try to figure out more about the clan traitors. Temari inclined her head, meaning that she got the message.

"When we checked in with the Hokage, we noticed that some of the guards were performing some sort of rituals. Are all Konoha residents that strange or is it just the one's we've met?" Naruto resisted the temptation to say some snarky remark in return and instead thought about what she said.

She was probably referring to the Hokage Guard Platoon. So did that mean that there were also traitors in the Hokage's guards? Naruto's eyes widened a fraction. That could be incredibly dangerous if not dealt with immediately. "No, we aren't all that weird. Except perhaps for Shikamaru-kun. I think he worships the god of sleep and laziness." Naruto smirked a bit before saying, "I had better be going now. The exams are going to start soon. I wish you luck."

"And you too, brat." Kankuro finally spoke up - utterly annoyed by the fact he had been so ignored. Naruto gave a cheery wave before worming his way through the crowd and back to where he could see Kei and Shikamaru mulling over what they had figured out. They waved Naruto over and then headed over to an uninhabited part of the room. Kei sat herself down on a chair and looked at the two boys with a slight frown on her face.

"Karin-san was a bit of a blabbermouth, so it was surprising all the things I learned from her. Not many of them were good things though." Kei began. "There are at least forty jounin to ANBU level bodyguards from all the shinobi villages, excluding Konoha of course. However, I know on average that each dignitary is assigned two body guards, one for day and one for night shifts. They range from jounin to ANBU level depending on importance. There are less than twenty five important leaders including secretaries and public relations officials. The number's abnormally high. It's a worriso-," she looked over to Shikamaru, "troublesome thing."

"Karin-san also said that she's worried about the shinobi from Oto. She feels as if they're a bit too slimy, but it's just a feeling." Kei said with a shrug. "I thought I had better mention it anyways, but there's something else." Kei's face fell into a frown. "Karin-san told me as a girl to girl thing, but she said that Inuzuka-san boasted that he'd kill anyone that got in his path during the games." She paused, looking at her two comrades. "Anyone. I doubt that he'd stop himself just because we're from the same village."

She rapped her fingers on her notebook anxiously. It was the last part that worried her. It could be a simple boast, but it could also have much graver implications. All genin entering were required to sign waivers saying that it wasn't the host country's fault if someone died in the exams, but they were also not meant to strike for the kill. However, it didn't have any rules or laws demanding that they weren't allowed to kill people. It was just an unspoken rule. But perhaps, if Kiba wanted to get rid of counter-insurgents then maybe he would try to kill as many as possible...

Shikamaru sighed and looked at the clock, "I don't have much to say. Kiri was exceptionally well guarded. They kept the conversation on the climate and on tourism. Whenever I tried to talk about people in the village or imply anything, they steered the conversation away."

A loud bell rung at the large doorway at the end of the room, and all the genin turned to look. A large man stood at the end of the doorway. A black cap covered his head, and an overcoat shielded the rest of him from view. Two long scars ran down his face, sending chills down some poor genin's spines. "You're all to come with me now. But before we go in to begin the first part of the exam I will allow you the chance to back out. I cannot guarantee that you will exit the same way that you enter, so if you value maintaining your current state, I'd advise you leave."

His cold eyes drifted over the crowd before landing in the corner of the room where Tsume was sitting. His eyes lingered there for a moment too long before drifting around to other corners of the room. A team from Sunagakure raised their hands along with a team from Amegakure. The two teams were shuttled out of the room, leaving 28 teams. Ibiki grunted, and thundered, "All of you come with me. We'll get you all nice and _comfortable_." There was something about the way that Ibiki said comfortable that raised the hairs on Naruto's neck. He swallowed anxiously before following Ibiki.

The first exam room was... a classroom? "Take your seats. All teams must split up so that they don't have a partner in a desk near them." Ibiki said gruffly, walking to the front of the room. All the teams moaned at this before slowly dispersing around the room. Naruto took a seat in the middle while Kei sat in the back left corner and Shikamaru in the back right.

Soon enough, all the students sat in their respective chairs and waited for the exam to start. "Right. Now I'm going to give you all a second chance to leave." Naruto screwed up his face. This was repetitive wasn't it? "But I'm going to tell you something I didn't tell you earlier." Ibiki raised his hand and hit it against the chalkboard, "This test is standardized for the year. If you fail this test, you won't be able to participate in the next exams during winter." Ibiki sent a harsh glare around the room. "With this in mind, will any of you volunteer to get out of this room?"

Well that threw a kink in everyone's plans. Especially now that everyone had been separated, each genin had to act on their own. "I'm sorry, but I want to leave!" A Suna genin shot up from her chair, followed by four more genin asking to withdraw. Two withdrawals were from Konoha, another from Suna, and one more from Ame.

"If you want to leave, take your teams and get out." Ibiki snorted as the five teams evacuated the room. As soon as the door closed came a muttered "Pathetic." He looked back to the rest of the teams and said, "Now let's work on rules." He pointed two fingers to the back of the room and summoned two chuunin to the front of the room.

The gray clad chuunin carried large stacks of papers and dumped them on a desk in the front of the room. They took some of the sheets from the top, and began passing them out while Ibiki spoke. "This is a ten question test. If you're smart, you have realized there are only nine questions on your test. This is because I am going to give you another at the very end. Also, because I'm nice. I'll give you an extra credit question to see if any of you maggots actually have brains."

"You all have your exams on your desks. You are going to answer them and get at least half of them right. If you fail, then you're out just like the other kids. Tough luck. If you cheat, you are immediately kicked out as well. I'll have people watching you because you miserable brats always think you're so smart. We'll be keeping an eye out for you cheaters, so be on your guard." Ibiki said low. "You have one hour!" He walked through the center aisle, his chuunin following him.

"I'll be back for you then." He walked out, slamming the doors shut behind him. The two chuunin stood silently by the door, and the genin could feel their stares boring into them. Kei had already started on the quiz, it containing things like mixing affinities and chakra pressure. Basically, she didn't see the big deal about it. She did worry about Naruto, but she knew that he'd do well enough. It was Shikamaru who she was worrying about.

Shikamaru was slowly writing his answers down on paper. As soon as he got to the sixth question, he dropped his pen and laid himself over his desk, closing his eyes. He only needed 51% to get over the limit, so why bother writing more? He could just conserve energy and wait for the next part of the exam.

"Suna in row five, three desks in. You're out along with your team." A blonde boy stood up sheepishly, walked out into the aisle along with his teammates. They could hear his profuse apologies until the door swung shut again.

Naruto groaned. How on earth was he supposed to know the trajectory of a kunai flying at a 45 degree angle with a wind affinity pushing it at ten miles per hour faster than normal? He didn't know, and he didn't care! He stabbed his paper multiple times, dearly wishing that the paper could just burn away and leave him alone.

A few minutes turned to twenty, and Naruto lost hope. He doodled aimlessly with his right hand, casting glances around the room. Some of the genin were obviously struggling. A few had their arms over their heads and were silently screaming. Others were agitatedly scratching out what they had written. Then his eyes landed on a Kusa nin just a seat in front and to the left of him. The ninja was calmly writing out answers before placing his pen on the table.

Naruto scrunched up his face. How on earth did the ninja feel that relaxed? Everything on here was obviously far beyond their learning level, so there was no way he could have known the answers... Then something clicked in Naruto's mind. If it was impossible for them to know the answers, then there had to be plants for them to get the answers from.

Naruto burst out laughing, sending heads swiveling in his direction. "Shut up, brat! And all of you, get back to work!" Ibiki yelled, annoyed that something had come up to distract the genin. He glared at Naruto who was now hunching over his paper, trying to stifle his laughs.

Naruto looked up from the desk and scribbled messily at the top of the page, "Whatever the "Kusa ninja" from the third row, two seats over wrote." Satisfied with his work, he didn't bother to do much else. Instead, he continued his doodling on the back of the page. The doodles took a strange form, though Naruto didn't particularly know why. They looked a bit like the storage seals that Inoichi carried along with him, but Naruto couldn't tell if they were the same.

Naruto scratched his chin, trying to figure out if there was anything else for him to add. Eventually, he shook his head and finished off his handiwork.

"Time's up!" Ibiki bellowed, causing some of the genin into dropping their pens. "Flip your papers over and prepare for the extra-credit question and the tenth question!" Naruto didn't quite care about this tenth question, but he cared about what this extra-credit was. He hadn't ever heard of extra-credit in any of the previous chuunin exams. He made quick note of it, and looked intently at Ibiki.

"If you answer the extra-credit right, it'll make up for some of your pathetic mistakes. So, I'd advise you to at least try." Ibiki snorted. "Considering this is a test, it's a good idea to see how smart you maggots are. Ninjas have to learn how to solve riddles and clues on the fly, so you have five minutes to solve the extra credit." Ibiki cleared his throat, "Sweet yet sour, vibrant yet black, warm but cold. What am I?"

From his spot in the back, Shikamaru's eyes slipped over to where Sasuke started slightly in his chair. The Uchiha's eyes lit up in recognition and he bent over the paper to write down. Sasuke smirked as he scribbled down the answer. "A Lie".

* * *

**Author's Note: See! I promised it would be longer! /waves with a flourish/ I haven't had a chapter this long in ages, so I hope you like it! I'm finally moving onto the chuunin exams! I've waited for these for so long, so I hope they'll be just as fun for you as they are for me!**

**Result of the Poll: Thanks so much for giving me all of your opinions! Team Tsume will be a no-pairing story. :D If I decide to write a sequel, which I think I will, I might add a pairing then. They're really just 13 now, so it would be a bit awkward to write romance anyways. Thanks so much for voting and telling me your opinions! I really appreciate it!**

**Thanks to Pokepikachu1 for continuing to put up with me! ;-; I'm a writing wreck at times, and I appreciate your support!**

**At the Guest reviewer: I'm sorry if the story makes you uncomfortable, but I'm going to continue writing it this way. Spying is a legitimate form of combat, and knowledge is power. It was an awful period of time, but militarily, I think any dictator would do the same. I hope you'll continue to enjoy the story! (:**


	22. Bodyguard of Lies

In time of war, when truth is so precious, it must be attended by a bodyguard of lies.  
**-Winston Churchill**

Chapter 21: Bodyguard of Lies

Ibiki waited a few moments as the genin scribbled down their answers to the bonus question. Shikamaru sat at his desk, staring blankly at his sheet of paper. It wasn't as much that he didn't understand the riddle, but he was thinking about its purpose. Ninja weren't textbooks. There was no way that they'd have a test just to make them pass or fail like this. That was for the academy, and now everything had to be done off of instinct. So why would there be extra credit? It didn't make any sense... Could it be graded? But then, what was the purpose of the grade if no ninja had to calculate the velocity of a kunai?

He stared down at his paper where he had written "A Lie" at the bottom of the page. He figured that if he at least wrote it down, he might have the chance to figure out what was going on. A hand reached down to grab his paper, and Shikamaru looked up to see one of the chuunin looking at him pointedly. They looked at each other for a few seconds before the chuunin grabbed the paper and moved on. What had that been all about?

"The last question will be done individually. One by one, you will all enter the side room," Ibiki jabbed a thumb over towards the door behind him, "and you will be asked the question. But keep in mind that if you fail, you will never become a chuunin. This question will be the deciding factor of whether or not you even have the foggiest hope of becoming anything but a genin. I will give you the chance to leave now, but if you stay, know that you might never get another chance." The genin looked between one another and gulped.

"I can't take it! I'm sorry!" A genin shot up from his seat and shook his head. "I don't want to ruin my chances!" The boy's teammates groaned and left the room. The room became eerily quiet as everyone waited to see if their teammates would pull out.

"Then the final part of this exam will begin. We will begin with Aburame. Come." Shino quietly got up from his chair and followed Ibiki into the room. Time passed, and slowly, the room drained of students. The strange thing was that the genin never came back. Shikamaru watched carefully from his chair as each student was led away. They had to be taken away for a reason. Was it a secret ploy or was it psychological manipulation?

"Nara Shikamaru." Shikamaru got up from his chair and glanced back at Kei and Naruto. Naruto flashed a grin and gave his friend a thumbs-up while Kei gave him a single nod. Shikamaru gave a small smile in return and followed Ibiki into the room. Shikamaru noticed how Ibiki glanced back at Shikamaru's two teammates as he closed the door behind them.

"Good job on the riddle. Not many were able to get that one." Ibiki said calmly. Shikamaru held back a curious look. Ibiki was obviously expecting a reaction. Ibiki was never one to give out compliments, so it had to have another purpose. Could Ibiki be a part of the revolution? But how could that be? Ibiki had been one of the Kage's closest allies for many years now! Shikamaru bit his lip slightly. It couldn't hurt to test it though.

"I know. I do wish there were more of us though. You know, the smart ones." Something flashed in Ibiki's eyes. Shikamaru tried to pick up what it was, but Ibiki had already turned away. The man walked across the hallway and twisted open one of the two doors.

"Go through here. You passed the test. We'll get in contact with you later." Shikamaru nodded before ambling through the door. He looked relaxed, but his mind was racing. What was that supposed to mean? Was it an IQ test to see who would be strong in code breaking, or was it what Shikamaru had feared? The door swung close behind him, and Shikamaru looked at the wood nervously. He didn't know what this could mean, and he wasn't sure that he wanted to know.

-TSUME-

The genin all huddled together inside of the room. Ibiki looked up at the wall clock and sighed. "Everyone, get away from the windows. Your next examiner will be coming in soon." Naruto gave the man an incredulous look before edging away from the long paneled windows. A few seconds later, true to his promise, the windows all exploded in a spray. A purple-haired woman shunshined into the room, crouching onto the ground. She stood up and waved her hands in a flourish.

"I am Mitarashi Anko, your fabulous examiner for the second part of the exams! I'm here to make you suffer and wish you were dead. So get ready for the ride, maggots!" Anko smirked cheekily at the gawking students. "I know you all think I'm gorgeous, but the clock's ticking! Let's ditch this all coot and head over to begin the_fun stuff_." Anko lipped her licks, and a shiver ran down the necks of the genin. No one liked the way she said 'fun stuff'.

"Don't traumatize them before the exam even begins, Mitarashi-san." Ibiki said neutrally. The genin sighed in relief. "They'll need their wits about them if they're going to survive." All right, perhaps now was not a good time to relax. Naruto gulped nervously and shifted his way through the crowd to be near Kei and Shikamaru.

"Right, right. Whatever you say, oldie. Let the young people handle this, so you can get back to your crutch. I'm sure it's painful to stand like that." Anko said with a flippant wave of her hand. She turned back to the genin and said, "Forth! Glory and death awaits us! Mostly death, but the point still stands." She smiled a sugar sweet smile that made the genin in the room shake.

Anko pushed her way through the crowd to the other side of the room. She twisted open the brass handle and walked through it. The genin all shared looks before moving to follow after the kunoichi. "She's mental." Kiba grumbled, trudging out the door.

Anko led the genin out of the facility and away from the village. The buildings soon fell away to trees and they found themselves walking through a dark forest. "Almost there, kiddos! Hurry it up! It's already annoying that we weren't there thirty minutes ago! I'm growing old here!" Anko called back over her shoulder.

Shikamaru sighed. This was so troublesome. Kei patted him on the shoulder reassuringly. It was nice having someone to commiserate with. Because right now, she felt as if her legs were going to give out from under her. She didn't go on runs for insanely long periods of time. Shikamaru and Naruto did that, or at least Naruto did. She could go fifteen minutes then go have a coughing fit. She just wasn't an athlete and it really showed just about now.

"And here we are!" Anko said merrily, skipping ahead. The lines of trees broke and a tall chain link fence stood loomed before them. Barbed wire circled the top of the poles, adding to the sense of fear that all the genin felt. "This will be where the next part of the exam will be held. Oh yes! I almost forgot!" Anko dug a hand into one of her many coat pockets and pulled out a wad of papers. She dropped the crumpled papers onto the ground before reaching for more in her pocket. After a few tries, she finally seemed satisfied.

"That should be enough." Anko said, looking at the pile on the ground. Her eyes flicked up towards all the immobile kids and she said, "So, what are you waiting for? Go ahead and sign them! I'm not babying you, pick them up yourselves. If you want to participate, you have to sign one of those babies." Naruto reached out and grabbed one of the sheets and looked it over quickly. "It's your death waiver. Meaning, if you screw up and get yourself killed, it ain't my fault."

Naruto spluttered and looked up at Anko. Was she serious? By the look on her face, she was very serious. He stared at her blankly for a few moments before he was tapped on the arm. He looked over to see Kei holding out a pen for him. He thanked her and took the writing utensil before sloppily writing his name on the dotted line. He had never been that good at handwriting, and he wasn't about to start now.

Anko walked around to collect all the papers before stuffing the sheets messily back into a pocket. "Good, good. Now let me explain the rules to all you munchkins." Anko walked towards the fence where a pile of satchels lay. She picked up one of the bags and looked carefully over the bags before plucking another one out. She dropped them in front of the students and crouched down beside them. She flipped the tops and pulled out two scrolls from the two satchels.

"This one right here," Anko said, holding up the white scroll in her hand, "is called the heaven scroll. And this other one," she held up the blue scroll, "is called the earth scroll. To finish this exam, you need to get both of them and head to the tower in the center of the arena. However, you'll only begin with one of the scrolls. And whatever you do," Anko paused to glare at all the kids, "don't open it." She dropped the scrolls back into their bags and placed them back into the pile.

"Each genin team will get a single bag. You can decide whether or not to keep the bag or ditch it. I honestly don't care as long as you keep the scroll. You can do whatever you want to get another scroll. Steal it, kill someone and then steal it, run wild. The waivers have been signed, so I honestly don't care crap about it." Anko snorted.

"There are 35 teams left. That means only 17 of ya will be coming out. Or less, depending on how many scrolls each surviving team collects in the end..." Anko trailed off, giving the genin a sly smile. "Give me an interesting show, will ya? It gets boring if nothing happens." She gave a shark-toothed grin before turning back to the pile.

"Each team must choose someone to pick up your bag. You can pick who carries it whenever you'd like. Feel free to switch it up if you want, just make it snappy. Each pack will have a number on it. Go to the gate numbered with the number on the pack. You'll have five days to make it to the center tower with both scrolls. The fun is going to begin in ten minutes, so take this time carefully!" Anko said cheerily before walking away towards a tower in the distance.

All the genin looked at each other nervously before slowly heading up to receive their packs. Kei went up to grab Tsume's, leaving Naruto and Shikamaru back in the crowd. Naruto looked over towards Gaara and the two met gazes. Gaara nodded at Naruto, who smiled. Even if the two teams met up, they'd avoid fighting each other. They were allies now, so it wouldn't do either of them any good if they kicked each other out of the running.

The maroon haired girl walked back up to them with a pack in hand. "Come on. Let's hurry up to gate 29. We can talk there." She lifted the pack over her shoulder and led the two boys over towards the plaster sign reading: 29. As they stood in front of the gate, Naruto offered to take the bag from her, but Kei shook her head. "We all know I'm too weak to carry this anyways, but they don't." She nodded towards the genin team that had just walked into 28. "Let them think I'm carrying it for now, and we'll deal with it when we get inside."

Shikamaru nodded. "All right. Just put it down if you get tired though." He took notice of the teams around their gate, trying to track where he had seen them before. 30 seemed familiar, perhaps they were Konoha ninja? He wouldn't doubt it, but they were turned away from him, so he couldn't tell. 28 was also from Konoha. A good majority of the passing teams had come from Konoha, but that was to be expected since Konoha had entered 29 teams at the beginning.

He noticed the genin from 28 talking amongst themselves in hushed tones. That wasn't surprising considering what was about to happen, but what was surprising was the fact that the girl kept on glancing at Tsume. Shikamaru frowned slightly. Were they going to try and attack Tsume once they got in the arena? He knew that Konoha would have to defeat some of their own considering they had over half the remaining team count, but he couldn't help but be suspicious. Everything made him suspicious.

He had reported the notes of the papers that his father had written, but he hadn't heard back from the Hokage on it. A part of him suspected his father, but another part had confidence in his dad's loyalty. If anything, his father had probably suspected the traitors and was trying to investigate them, but Shikamaru would never know until it was confirmed. That was why Shikamaru hated the spy business. It was the business of lies. Even the truth had to be coated with a healthy dosage of lies so that no one could see that it was really the truth.

Shikamaru was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of a buzzer ringing. Anko's voice came out loud over the speakers, "Listen up, maggots! The fun is going to start in 5!" Kei tightened her hands around the strap of the back and took in a deep breath. "4! 3!" Naruto flipped a kunai out of his pouch and slipped it up his sleeve. "2! 1!" Shikamaru rolled his head from side to side before bending his knees ever so slightly, reading to spring away. "GO!"

The gates snapped open, and Tsume bolted ahead into the forest. They ran for a good five minutes before stopping. Kei had her ears open before shaking her head. She couldn't hear anyone. Kei turned to Shikamaru and tossed him the pack. Shikamaru caught it and flipped the top, pulling out the scroll. It was a heaven scroll. He inspected it carefully before tucking it away into his belt. It was a handy thing, that belt. He had a few explosive tags hidden in it along with kunai and senbon. The best thing was the fact that he could cover it up with his jacket, so it would be hard to notice.

"Give me the bag back," Kei said, holding out her hand. Shikamaru looked at her curiously before it snapped into place. He handed her the bag back, and she slung the empty pack over her shoulder. "It'll make it look like I still have the scroll. I've gotten pretty good at dodging anyways." Kei brushed some of the hair out of her face. "So, what's the plan?"

Naruto looked to Shikamaru expectantly, and said boy sighed. "How troublesome... but we're going to head to the tower. If we don't meet someone on the way, we'll wait outside the tower for people to appear. If they come to the tower, they'll probably have both scrolls already. They will also have probably fought someone on the way, weakening them. We'll jump them then. It makes the most sense."

Naruto lit up, and he bounced up and down. "This is going to be awesome! Let's go and get a head start! The sooner we get there, the better the trap we can make." Kei and Shikamaru nodded in reply, and they set off. Kei and Shikamaru bounded through the trees, shunshining their way through the forest. Naruto did something resembling giant hops, but managed to keep up with Kei and Shikamaru in any case.

They made their way through the forest, listening carefully for the sound of an enemy team. Surprisingly enough, for the first hour, nothing happened. Shikamaru found it curious considering that 28 had been so furtive at the opening gates. He didn't share his worry to his teammates because the chances were high that he was just paranoid. He still couldn't shake that feeling that they were being watched though...

Shikamaru closed his eyes and listened to the sounds of the forest. He heard the twittering of birds, the sound of Tsume's rhythmic steps across the branches, but there were a few sounds that were out of step. Shikamaru's eyes flashed open and he looked down at the ground where Naruto was. He counted the sounds of Naruto's steps and then listened again. They were being followed. "Kei-chan, we're being shadowed. We need to get on the ground and tell Naruto-san without causing a disturbance."

Kei's eyes widened, and she nodded. They both landed on the next branch before propelling off to the ground. They landed in front of Naruto, stopping the blonde from taking another leap ahead. His eyes spelled his confusion before he read their faces. Naruto's expression changed to one of solemnness. The three backed into a defensive triangle, careful to make sure that no one was being obviously protected.

"Come out! We know you're following us!" Naruto called out to the darkness. The pounding of footsteps had stopped, and the forest was now silent. For a second, Shikamaru wondered if he had been wrong, but then a black haired woman stepped out from behind a tree.

"All right, you got me." The girl crossed her arms and tilted her head back arrogantly, revealing her Konoha head band. "I have to admit, I'm surprised. I thought I had the timing pretty well down, but I guess not. Oh well. It's not as if you'll live to tell the tale or anything." She sniffed haughtily, withdrawing two swords from behind her back.

"My name is Miyajima Rika! Prepare to meet your doom!" She twirled the swords around her hands and took a step nearer to the trio. She stopped for a moment and thought contemplatively. "Oh yes, I suppose I'm not the only one." A sinister grin made its way onto her face. "Come out!"

Out of the trees burst five genin, weapons at the ready. Naruto's eyes widened. They had formed an alliance! "Split!" Naruto yelled, diving out of the way of the first genin. A red haired boy thrust his spear out towards him, causing Naruto to slide out of the way. Naruto kicked out, sending the boy back a few feet before another came after him.

Naruto rolled out of the way of the brown-haired girl and yelled, "**Tsuin Tatsumaki no Jutsu**!" A third genin's senbon got sucked up into the vortex, making the tornado a whirling weapon.

"Get back, Sasada-san! I'm going to go all out!" A fourth voice called. Naruto looked up to see a blonde haired boy signing furiously before yelling, "**Doton: Doryuso**!" Naruto's eyes widened and he looked around wildly to figure out where the attack would come from. He failed to realize one thing: the first rule of being a shinobi is to expect the unexpected. Rocks shifted beneath him and shot forth, stabbing Naruto in the back of his leg.

Naruto yelled in pain, but forced himself away from the spike. He fought to keep the jutsu going, using it to ward away the four genin that were coming after him. Another spike shot up from the ground, and Naruto barely moved the vortex in the way of the rock barb as it shot towards his head. Naruto may not have been one for calculations, but he knew a killing strike when he saw one. Naruto yelled in fury, and dove at them with renewed energy. If they were going to use killing blows, then he couldn't just sit back.

Shikamaru looked over to Naruto, hearing his yell. He gritted his teeth when he saw that four of them were going after Naruto. But why would they be doing that unless... It sparked in Shikamaru's mind. They were targeting Naruto. They must have known that he was a jinchuuriki, and were trying to take him out now because deaths were frequent in the games. They had to know how Naruto was hesitant about hurting his own comrades, even if they were competitors in the exams. Shikamaru growled and shot forward at Rika, who was twirling her blades once more.

She lunged, her right sword coming at him from above with the left headed for his stomach. Shikamaru drop rolled onto the ground, moving past her. As he rolled, he slipped a kunai out of his pack and stabbed into her leg. Rika yelled and tripped forward. She yanked the kunai out viciously before throwing it at Shikamaru's neck. Shikamaru leaned to the side to avoid the kunai and quickly began signing. "**Hikari Daichi no Ken no Jutsu**!"

He slammed his hands on the ground and felt the earth shift underneath them. He wrapped his hands around a growing mound in the earth and pulled. A sword appeared from the earth, and Shikamaru held it protectively in front of him. He only had one strike, so he had to make it worth it. "Really? You're really going to try and attack me with one of my own weapons? You're stupider than they all say." Rika snarled, moving to attack again.

Shikamaru ducked over her first strike and slammed the dulled blade of his sword into her chest, releasing it as he did so. The blade carried Rika back into a tree before cracks developed along the earth. A few seconds later, the shell cracked open and a blinding light flooded the forest. Shikamaru held a hand over his eyes and turned to where he remembered Naruto to be. "Naruto-san! These genin are traitors! They're trying to kill you!" There was no other reason they could be targeting Naruto.

Naruto was the unknown factor in the rebellion. If the Jinchuuriki sided with the Hokage, then it could end up turning the tide. The traitors had to eliminate them while they still had the time and the exams were perfect for that. This part of the exam wasn't proctored. No one would see what happened inside the forest.

The red-haired boy was the first to recover from the light bomb. His eyes widened in surprised from Shikamaru's statement. "We might have let you go before. The container is the only one we need, but now... Now you all have to die!" He yelled, charging at Shikamaru with renewed vigor.

-TSUME-

"What was that flash of light? Come on, let's go and see!" Tenten demanded, snagging Neji by the shoulder and pulling him towards the dissipating light. They hadn't seen anyone in this stupid forest, and Tenten was just about ready to attack a bunny if not just to get rid of the tension. Neji had been as uptight as ever and Lee had been surprisingly quiet. She just wanted something to happen.

She crept through the trees, and hid on the fringe of the battle. Peering around the corner of a tree, she looked at where the three genin teams were fighting. She barely caught the sound of "you all have to die!" being shouted. She started in surprise and turned towards Neji and Rock Lee. "We have to help."

"I agree! Killing people is most unyouthful especially when they outnumber! Come, my youthful companions, we must save them!" Lee moved to enter the fray, but Neji grabbed him and held him in place.

"Think about this carefully! We're going to head into a losing battle for what reason? We'll just get ourselves in trouble if we enter this conflict. It isn't our fight to deal with, so we should just back off." Neji reasoned, crossing his arms. He looked from Tenten to Lee, hoping they would understand where he was coming from. The two teams that were fighting against Tsume seemed to be in much better condition. If Team 9 entered, they'd be fighting to salvage what was left. It was too much trouble for it to be worth it.

"But it's unyouthful to not help them!" Lee exclaimed, earning him a swatting on the back of the head.

"Be quiet!" Tenten whispered. "But I agree. It's not right for us to just leave after seeing this, Neji-san. And in any case, one of the two teams probably has the scroll we need. You can't argue with that, can you?"

Neji looked between the two of them, sighing. "I still don't think it's a good idea, but I doubt I'll be able to convince you otherwise." The other two brightened at that. "Just don't kill them. They may be trying to kill Tsume, but we don't want their blood on our hands. Just go for knockout blows."

Tenten brightened, smiling happily. "Yes! Come on, Lee! Let's go!" She grabbed her bou staff from her back and burst into the clearing with Lee not far behind. Neji groaned and rubbed his forehead. Whatever happened, at least he would be able to say it was not his fault.

"Byakugan."

* * *

**Author's Note: This week has been very tiring for me. I've been in and out of migraines for the past four days, so I've barely gotten anything done. It's pretty awful, but they should go away soon. I normally have one bad week every month or so, but I'll be better soon.**

**Thanks to Pokepikachu1 for betaing and correcting my jutsu. xD**

**Thanks to everyone who continues to read this story every week! I really appreciate your support! (:**

**Hikari Daichi no Ken no Jutsu| C rank ninjutsu. Create a sword out of the earth. It allows one hit before it cracks and creates a flash of light.  
Doton: Doryuso| C rank ninjutsu. Causes spikes and barbs to appear from the ground to pierce the target.**


	23. A Little Hot Blood

In a battle all you need to make you fight is a little hot blood and the knowledge that it's more dangerous to lose than to win.  
**-George Bernard Shaw**

Chapter 22: A Little Hot Blood

Tenten and Lee rushed through the brush, leading the attack. Hearing their arrival, Rika shot up to her feet and jumped backwards. As she landed on the ground, she flinched at the pain in her foot. "This fight does not involve you! Leave here!" She demanded, concealing her pain. Team 9 was an unscheduled interference. No team in their right mind would try to support a group that was being overwhelmed.

"I'm sorry, my spring flower!" Rika winced, "But I cannot do allow you to gang-up on a younger team of Konoha and threaten them with death. It's my shinobi way to protect those in need and to never give up when all the odds are against me!" Lee held his hands out before him and got down into a battle crouch. "So have at us!"

Rika snarled, casting a glance at her fellow genin. She looked back to Lee before yelling, "Stay on the blond brat! I'll take care of these idiots!" She clenched her swords in her fists before charging at Lee and Tenten. She couldn't afford any sympathy right now. She had a mission to do, and if they got involved, she'd have to eliminate them.

Tenten swung down with her staff before cutting to the right. Rika ducked down, avoiding the wooden weapon. She slammed Tenten in the stomach with the flats of her blades, knocking her back as Lee neared. Lee thrust a fist at her, causing her to jump back. She blocked the pain out of her mind as she deflected Tenten's kunai. Lee leapt forward, kicking Rika in the stomach. Rika tumbled backward, slamming into a tree. The brown haired girl dropped to the ground, narrowly avoiding a senbon aimed for her neck.

Over to the side, Shikamaru had engaged the red-headed boy. He swerved in and out of the spear strikes, trying to find an opening. Whenever he tried to sign a jutsu, the boy would extend just a bit farther and nick him on the arm. Shikamaru wasn't one for close combat. He was a strategist, not a fighter. That was why they had always chosen for him to be a defensive player, not an offensive. He hadn't prepared much in the event of something like this. There weren't many more jutsu he could use after that last one.

The inside of the jutsu was made of pure light. Converting chakra to light was surprisingly hard and it was only possible with the yin and yang affinity. The jutsu was made as a flashbomb for Shikamaru to retreat if he was ever in danger. This time, however, he didn't retreat. That was a bad, bad idea. The red-head stabbed again, and Shikamaru grabbed the hilt of the spear. The boy tried to yank back his weapon only for Shikamaru to grab it with his other hand.

The boy growled and let go of the spear. Shikamaru's eyes widened as the other ducked low and struck his stomach with a kick. Shikamaru and the spear went flying across the clearing. He skidded on the ground, his head whirling. The spear boy dived for his weapon and twisted it out of Shikamaru's limp grip. The two boys tumbled on the ground, exchanging blows as they both fought for possession of the weapon.

The redhead tossed Shikamaru off him with a quick punch to the stomach before snatching his prized weapon from the ground. But when he had gotten up to face Shikamaru once more, the boy had already vanished.

The spear boy growled and ran into the forest, passing Kei who was dealing with an attacker of her own. At this point, she only knew two offensive jutsu. She could pressurize water into explosive bursts, but that was a last resort. She couldn't condense that much water without feeling sick afterwards. And then there was the water senbon that Kakashi had taught her just a little bit ago. It looked like she'd have to try that then.

"**Doton: Gansetsukon!**" The blonde yelled, flipping backwards. As he sprang up from the ground, a long earthen staff extended into his hand. He twirled the staff in his hands before snapping it out ahead. Chunks of earth fell off of the staff, forming sharpened edges. It was now a two part blade. Kei bit her lip and began signing.

She tried not to let her fear get the best of her as she tried to condense a senbon in the air. If she was too nervous then she could easily disperse the jutsu. This required a lot of concentration, and she wasn't exactly the best under pressure. The boy ran towards her, staff held above his head. She tried to feel the energy in the air around her. The air was alive around her; she just had to figure out how to bring it together.

A small bubble of water appeared behind the blonde as he neared. Something clicked, and Kei's golden eyes shot open. "**Gyoushuku Mizu no Hari no Jutsu!**" She yelled, thrusting her hands out in front of her. The coil of water floated for a moment before diving at the boy. It shot down before rising up to hit his right arm. The boy yelped as a loud popping sound was heard.

Kei had been reading more of her medical ninjutsu books. Chapter 7, page 138, dislocated shoulders made up a large portion of all dislocations. They normally happened due to a strong pressure while the arm is turned out, like when a staff is raised overhead. The staff dissolved as the boy let it slip from his grasp, no longer having the chakra it needed to sustain itself.

She flipped open her kunai pouch and took out a senbon, hurling it at the boy. He looked up and saw the glint of metal, and dropped out of the way. He clung to his arm tightly and fled back towards a crowd of his teammates, trying to steady himself.

The blonde stormed past Neji and the brown haired girl. "My name is Kaza Eri. Cease and leave this area and I will not harm you." Eri held her hands in front of her, ready to fly into a ninjutsu if she had to.

Neji looked at her and sighed. "I'm afraid I cannot do that, Kaza-san."

Eri frowned and said, "Then I suppose we must fight." Her hands flew through hands before slamming them on the ground. "**Kuchiyose no Jutsu**!" She yelled. A cloud of smoke issued from the ground, blocking the vision of those nearby.

Neji's eyes bulged as his Byakugan searched through the mist. He caught sight of the large chakra signature in front of him before suddenly dozens of other signatures appeared in the air. Was this a genjutsu? No, it didn't have the signs of a normal genjutsu. It clicked in his head. She had summoned a hoard of animals.

The smoke cleared and a flock of hawks circled overhead, blocking the sun. Eri called up to them saying, "Kill the girl!" Neji immediately searched the field for Tenten and moved to warn her before he realized the hawks were going in an entirely different direction. The grayscale surroundings shifted as his vision trailed after the birds of prey. They were heading for Kei.

The maroon haired girl was blissfully unaware of the swarm that was coming down on her, too busy fighting the blonde who had come back as fierce as ever. She leaped out of the way as he swung his staff down with a single arm, the other still dislocated. It was then she heard the flapping of wings and the crowing of birds. She looked to the side to see the summons diving at her, and she knew there was no way for her to fight off so many.

She looked back over to the side and saw the blonde coming at her. Either she would be gutted by the birds or beaten by the staff. She grabbed a fist of senbon from her pouch and threw them at the birds. A few disappeared into smoke, but the others remained. They approached, faster and faster, and Kei closed her eyes, waiting for the impact.

She felt the claws scratch into her skin, digging into her flesh. She let out a scream as the pain ran through her. "I will save you in the name of youth!" A blur of green appeared as Lee dove into the fray. He snapped an arm out, sending the blonde back before striking out at the birds. As the hawks neared, Lee hit them sharply, forcing them to disperse in puffs of smoke.

Kei stumbled back against a tree, clutching at her arm. She pulled her hand back to see red. She looked over her arm before seeing a deep gouge in her left arm. She hissed as she saw the injury. Brachial artery injury, it required surgical attention. It was attention she couldn't get right now. She looked up and called to Lee, "Rock-san, I need to heal myself. Please try and protect me!" She'd have to try and sow together her own vein without anesthesia.

"Yes, Shimizu-chan!" Lee said, a dangerous look flashing in his eyes. Just by looking at the blood that was slipping down her arm, he knew it had to be serious. It was coming too quickly for it to not be. They'd regret such a cowardly and unyouthful attack.

Naruto managed to slip his gaze over to where Kei was and almost slipped on the ground. A guttural growl escaped him. How dare they hurt his teammates! It was one thing if they decided to attack him, but no one hurt his comrades. The black haired boy rushed towards him, his tanto prepared to strike. Naruto roared at him and released the first of the two tornados, sending the senbon hurtling back towards him.

The boy yelped in pain as dozens of senbon dug into his skin. One stuck into his neck, and he slumped to the ground unconscious. Knowing that he couldn't keep a single tornado up for long, he pivoted on his feet and released the jutsu. The senbon that had been wrapped up in the cyclone were hurled towards Rika who was still battling Tenten. The senbon stabbed into Rika, freezing her still. Tenten took the chance to strike, smashing her bou staff down on the girl.

Rika vanished into a cloud of smoke, exposing the clone. "Shoot! Where did she go now?" Tenten groaned, gripping the staff tightly. She hated playing hide-and-seek. "Come out and fight!"

"Yes, ma'am." Rika said with a smirk. She flashed through the smoke and stabbed Tenten in the stomach. Tenten gasped as the blade skewered her right through the stomach. She coughed as the blade was drawn out and dropped onto her knees, holding onto her stomach. "Stupid girl. Don't ask for what you aren't ready for." Rika crooned into Tenten's ear. "Now say goodnight."

She laid her swords daintily on Tenten's shoulders and slid the blades next to the brunette's neck. Tenten stifled her coughs, trying to prevent the blades from slicing into her skin. "Get away from her." A voice growled lowly.

"**Hakke Rokujuuyon Sho**." Neji snapped out, slamming Rika away from Tenten. "Two palms!" He shunshined over to Rika and hit her at the neck. "Four palms!" He pivoted and hit the chakra points in her arms. "Eight palms! Sixteen palms!" Rika's eyes dilated as all of her tenketsu got shut off, one by one. "Thirty-two palms! Sixty-four palms!" Neji finished the jutsu with a kick to the chest, sending Rika careening back into a tree.

Neji had no remorse in his eyes as he stared at her limp form, slumped against the now bent tree. He stared coldly at the girl before turning away to Tenten. The bun-haired girl was still clutching tightly at her chest. She held a hand over her mouth, obviously struggling with nausea. She looked up to Neji with a tired look in her eyes. Neji crouched down by her and leaned her back into his arms. He picked her up and shunshined over to where Kei was.

As a member of the branch house, he had never been taught any medical ninjutsu. Branch house members were considered fodder and were always on the front lines. No one particularly cared if they died in the line of duty because that was their purpose. He wished that he knew medical ninjutsu now. He hated knowing that he couldn't do anything else for Tenten right now. He laid her down on the ground beside Kei and shot the maroon haired girl a look.

He knew that she was tending to her own injuries as well, but he still hoped that she would help Tenten as well. Kei nodded to him, not saying another word as she was too absorbed in focusing on her chakra. She wasn't good enough to completely mend the artery, but she could put up a protective filament around the artery, letting it flow normally. It would have to be officially healed later, but she only needed to last a few more hours.

Sweat dripped down her brow as she concentrated. Her mind ran through the composition of the arterial walls. She imagined the walls growing up to surround the course of blood that was flowing through her veins. She had to stitch together thin strings of atoms to create the wall. Control had always been her strong point, for that she was thankful, but this surgery would require a lot of energy. Even then, she had to conserve some of her energy to help Tenten.

She shot a glance over to the weapons specialist and noticed the blood pouring from her chest. Chapter 19, page 472, tension pneumothoraxes and stab wounds. Kei cursed under her breath and closed her eyes, trying to rush the healing of her own injury. The artery mended together, sealing a few moments later. Her skin was still ripped from the talons, but she had no time to deal with that now.

She rolled the bandages out from her pouch and lifted Tenten up onto her knee. "Come on now... Don't fall asleep on me!" Kei didn't know the girl that well, but she was not about to let one of her comrades die, much less a comrade that had risked her own life to save all of Tsume's.

Eri had managed to get back onto her feet after Neji had knocked out the tenketsu in her left leg. She wobbled on her feet before quickly signing. "**Katon: Gokakyuu no Jutsu**!" She yelled, taking a deep breath in. She blew out harshly, a great fireball growing from her lips. Neji stared at the oncoming fireball before snorting.

"How pathetic.**Hakkesho Kaiten**." Neji leaned forward and closed his eyes before spinning around rapidly, releasing particles of chakra into the air. The chakra swirled around him, creating a protective barrier. The fireball struck the shield, scattering in all directions. Neji halted and looked towards Eri who was standing still. He moved forward and struck her at the base of the neck, rendering her unconscious. He caught her as she fell before laying her back against the tree. "Be glad I didn't kill you." He mumbled as he took a step back.

-TSUME-

Shikamaru did not like fighting. In fact, he rather hated it. It expended too much energy and it was something that anyone could do. All you had to do was train yourself enough to get a fast response. Unfortunately, Shikamaru had neglected that part of his training. He dodged in and out of the blonde boy's strikes, weaving his way back and away from the battle.

The blonde's dislocated arm hung limply at his side as he tried to fight with his staff. "We can't lose! We can't!" He yelled desperately as he stabbed at Shikamaru again. Shikamaru dodged under the strike and thrust a kunai at the boy's hands, stabbing through one of them. The boy yelled, dropping the staff. Shikamaru took this chance to hook a leg around the boy's drawing him down to the ground.

"You can." Shikamaru said shortly, leaning over the boy. "How troublesome... Why don't you just give up?"

"I can't, don't you understand? Failure is for weaklings, and weaklings have no place in society!" The boy cried, covering his face with his hand. "It's survival of the fittest, and those not strong enough will be killed." Shikamaru took a step back, confused. Had the traitors set up some kind of dictatorship to try and persecute the weaklings?

"We won't let you die. Just come with us." Shikamaru implored, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder. The blonde slapped it away and got up from the ground.

"No! You're all going to lose anyways, even if I fail. If I even considered the idea, they'd know and they'd kill me. I won't let that happen!" The blonde crawled a few feet back before stumbling up to his feet. He fled from the clearing, leaving Shikamaru star-struck. What had just happened?

-TSUME-

The red-headed boy was the last one standing. He considered his options. He could run, but that would mean that he had to abandon his teammates. He'd lose the exams without them in any case, and the leader would think him cowardly for even considering running. He gripped the spear tightly and took in a deep breath. He'd have to go down fighting then.

He leaped upwards into the tree tops, hiding among the branches. He kept moving around the branches, never staying in a single spot for more than one second. He snuck a wad of exploding tags from his back and planted them on all the trees as he passed by. Shikamaru watched as the boy moved around before taking a step back. "Everyone fall back!"

Naruto gave Shikamaru a weird look before everything exploded. A shower of bark and splinters rained down from above. Neji ran before Lee and the two girls, creating a chakra shield in front of them. Shikamaru dove through the bushes, trying to avoid the slivers as he went.

Naruto tried to shunshin away, but knew he wouldn't make it in time.**Boy! Let me help you!**Naruto gritted his teeth. He didn't want to have to use the Kyuubi's power, but it looked like he would have to.**Stop complaining and take my chakra.**Naruto felt a warm tingling racing up his arms. He blinked and when his eyes opened, everything was tinted orange. The trees gave off an ethereal glow and the grass looked as if it was alive.

What on earth was this?**Move!**Naruto landed on the ground, spinning around to face the oncoming wave of splinters. He swung his arms out sending a blast of orange chakra. The splinters scattered over the ground under the force, some dissolving entirely. Naruto's eyes widened at what just happened and whispered to himself, "What was that?"

**Don't think of me as weak, Naruto-brat. I can siphon my energy into you without taking full control. It's only in emergencies that I have to do that.**Kurama said as Naruto sped along the ground. He felt faster, lighter. The air seemed cleaner as he breathed it in.**Having a large burst of chakra added into your system is like having a blood transfusion. It will help your body function.**

Naruto funneled his energy to his feet and ran up the side of the tree.**Careful, brat! You're using too much energy!**It was a queer feeling having his chakra manipulated from inside him. He felt the Kyuubi slowing down the movement of chakra in his feet, helping him keep his balance. He jumped onto one of the thicker branches, looking for the spear boy.

The red head was staring at Naruto awestruck. What was that red energy? Naruto was giving out a subtle orange aura, but that wasn't what scared the boy. It was Naruto's eyes. The normally blue eyes were tinted brown from the orange halo that surrounded them. It chilled the boy. He tried to conceal his shakes as he shot away to another branch. He'd have to keep on the move if he was going to win this.

Naruto's eyes flicked to the side, keeping an eye on the red head's movements. He kicked off to another branch, calling chakra to his hands. He flung his arms out before him, sending another coil of orange energy out of his fists. The spear boy tried to dodge out of the way, but the blast clipped him in the arm. He screamed as the chakra burnt into his skin, a scorching smell filling the air. He tumbled out of his branch, falling down to the ground. The numerous branches broke his fall, but it didn't change the loud crack that was heard at his final descent.

Naruto knelt on the branch, heaving in and out. It was rare that he got truly tired, but now he felt that it was one of those times.**Your companions need you Naruto-brat, get on your feet.**Kurama demanded.**I can't move your body for you like this, but it's annoying see you groveling on the ground. MOVE!**Naruto flinched at the Kyuubi's tone and forced himself up onto his feet. The Kyuubi had been less bloodthirsty lately and more moody. He supposed that it was just another outlet now that he couldn't physically attack anything.

"Thanks for the assist though." Naruto mumbled under his breath.**Don't mention it. Wait, do mention it because you have to learn some respect.**Naruto heard a snort in his head and sighed. He had such a discontented resident. Naruto jumped down, following the staircase of branches that lead down to the ground.

He looked over to where Rika had slumped against a tree and wobbled over. He flipped her onto her side and saw one of the brown packs attached around her waist. Naruto reached a shaky hand into his kunai pouch and slipped out one of the knives. He cut through the band and lifted away the pack.

Flipping the lid, he looked inside and took out an earth scroll. His gaze flicked over to Team 9 before he hastily stuffed it back in the pouch. He didn't like to be so suspicious of them, but the exams were still running. He would need this scroll to get his teammates inside the tower where the medics were. He saw Lee searching the other unconscious genin before taking out a heaven scroll from the spear boy. Naruto watched as Lee nodded in satisfaction, running over to where Neji was hunched over by Tenten.

"Ah, my youthful comrade!" Lee chirped. "Do you have the scroll you need to complete this part of the exam? We have ours!" Naruto involuntarily flinched at the boy's loudness. It was deafening!

"Yeah, we do." Naruto replied, crouching down beside Kei. "Kei-chan, is there anything we can do?"

Kei wiped her forehead, smearing blood over her face. "We need to get her to a medic. Reading a textbook is easier than performing in real life. There are too many variables." She leaned away from Tenten and clutched onto her arm. She didn't have any leftover bandages for herself. She had to try and seal Tenten's wound to prevent an air bubble from developing.

"Hyuuga-san, will you carry her?" Kei asked, forcing herself up. "Try to keep the injury over her head." She added as Neji tried to maneuver the girl in his arms. Blood was still seeping through Tenten's bandages, but there was nothing they could do about that now. She needed a doctor.

"Let's go."

* * *

**Author's Note: School has been really tough on me this past week. It's going to get even worse the next few weeks. I'm going to try to keep updating, but please note that they may be shorter than usual. I've only had time to write between 12am and 1am, so I'm running on the midnight oil here. That's my spiel of the day, so thanks for reading that. xD**

**Thanks Pokepikachu1 for putting up with me and my late submissions!**

**Doton: Gansetsukon | D Rank Ninjutsu. Allows the user to take a small chunk of rock and turn it into the shape of a staff.  
Kuchiyose no Jutsu | C Rank Ninjutsu. Allows the summoner to transport animals or people across long distances instantly.  
Hakke Rokujuuyon Sho | A Rank Taijutsu. Strikes all sixty-four of the tenketsu throughout the opponent's Chakra Pathway System, their chakra flow is stopped, making them unable to even stand.  
Katon: Gokakyuu no Jutsu | C Rank Ninjutsu. Chakra kneaded inside the body is converted into fire, and expelled from the mouth either as a massive orb of roaring flame or as a continuous flame-thrower  
Hakkesho Kaiten | B Rank Taijutsu. Releases a huge amount of chakra from all the chakra points on the user's body.**


	24. Death Trap

We are dying from overthinking. We are slowly killing ourselves by thinking about everything. Think. Think. Think. You can never trust the human mind anyway. It's a death trap.  
**-Anthony Hopkins**

Chapter 23: Death Trap

"Hurry! We need to get to the tower!" Neji called back. Shikamaru skipped from branch to branch, his back slumping. He had the two scrolls stuffed in his jacket, and he had to admit: they weren't hidden at all. The twin bulges were thinly concealed and jabbed into his side whenever he landed. He was sure that when he was done, he'd have bruises just from carrying the scrolls. There was no reason for him to complain though. After all, he didn't have to carry either of the girls.

He looked over to see Neji jumping from tree to tree. He held Tenten over his shoulder, awkwardly trying to balance her in place. Surprisingly enough, Neji had listened to all the instructions that Kei had given him. Shikamaru didn't think that the day would come where Neji would take orders from someone else, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

Then something happened that nearly caused Shikamaru to fall off his tree. A blood curdling scream ripped through the air. Naruto's eyes widened and he felt every muscle in his body clench. He knew that voice. "Sakura-san!" Without waiting for the others, Naruto leaped ahead, using his super-powered shunshin. He skipped completely over trees as he looked for the source of the scream. Something was wrong, terribly wrong.

Naruto dropped down on a thick tangle of wood. His eyes just perchance glanced over to the side. Sasuke was on the tree just beside him, but that wasn't what made Naruto choke. Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth, slipping down onto his shirt. The once blue shirt was now stained brown from all the blood. A kunai was embedded in Sasuke's stomach, pinning him to the tree. His arms were stabbed into the tree, keeping him in place.

The kunai were the only thing that kept him up for Sasuke was still. His eyes were shut and his mouth hung open. Naruto rushed over to his side and yanked the kunai out. He grabbed Sasuke as he began to fall, and pulled him over to the branch. Naruto felt for the other boy's pulse and sighed with relief when he felt it. It was weak, but it was still there.

The branch shook as someone else landed on the branch. Blue eyes flicked over to see Lee standing behind him. Lee's eyes narrowed when he saw Sasuke before he asked, "Where are the others?"

Naruto nearly hit himself. It was Sakura's scream he had heard. He had gotten too lost in Sasuke that he hadn't looked for the other part of Team 7! "They must be ahead. We have to find them."

Kei and Shikamaru dropped in beside them. Kei dropped onto one knee, wheezing a bit. "I'll stay with Uchiha-san for now. I'll see what I can do for him with what I have left." She opened up her medical pouch and pulled out a needle and some string.

Naruto nodded to her and then looked at the others. "Let's go." He shot away, following the direction where the sound came from. His heart beat erratically. Sasuke had been the top graduate of the academy. He was much stronger than Sakura and Kiba, probably stronger than both of them combined. If Sasuke had been beaten so brutally, the others would never have stood a chance. Naruto only hoped that Sakura and Kiba would be alive when he got there.

Naruto burst into the next crowd of trees when another scream ripped out. Naruto hurried his pace, jumping swiftly through the trees. He caught a flash of pink and slowed down to a stop. Sakura was thrashing on the ground, trying to kick away someone on top of her. Her arms were being held to the sides as the pallid figure above her whispered into her ear.

Naruto searched the area for Kiba. He hadn't seen the boy on his way over, so he had to be here. He saw a patch of white and started when he realized it was Akamaru. The dog had been violently tossed against a tree and was unconscious against the ground. Above him, Kiba was lying face down on the ground. Naruto stared at the unmoving form before turning back to Sakura. "Get away from her!" He yelled, jumping down from his tree branch.

Yellow slit eyes glanced towards him before turning back to their prey. The man leaned farther in beside Sakura's ear and whispered soft. A malicious smile crept onto the man's face. He opened his mouth ever so slightly, and Naruto could see the gleam of razor sharp teeth. Sakura struggled, trying to get away, but she could not. The man crunched his teeth into her skin, causing Sakura to shriek.

The scaly man released her before stepping out of the way of Naruto's fist. "I have what I want. Do not chase after me, boy. You wouldn't live to tell the tale." His voice was breathy and low. It sounded like nails scraping down a chalkboard. Naruto sent a menacing glare and moved protectively in front of Sakura. The man seemed amused at Naruto's antics and clicked his tongue.

"You are precious, aren't you? If only I had found you first and you didn't have your lackeys coming after you." Yellow eyes gazed up into the tree branches where Neji and Lee were standing, muscles tensed and ready for another fight. "There will always be another day though." He clicked his tongue before turning away.

Naruto held his ground. He knew that they wouldn't be a match for him, especially since they were all tired. The snake-like man didn't even seem winded! Naruto clenched a fist. He wanted to avenge his village-mates, but he would only get himself killed if he tried.**Be quiet, boy. That man is dangerous. He has been around since the time of my last container. Do not provoke him unless you want me to take over so badly, **Kurama growled in Naruto's ear.

Naruto knew it was smart to listen to Kurama, but it didn't feel like it. It felt like he was giving up.**Orochimaru is more than your match. My only limit is your body, which is far too weak. I could kill you on accident if I tried to fend him off. Just stay still!**Naruto visibly shook something that Orochimaru took for fear.

"They say the only thing to fear is fear itself, but that's a lie. The only thing to fear is death." Orochimaru gave a Cheshire smile before shunshining away into the forest. Naruto gritted his teeth and crouched down beside Sakura. The pinkette was heaving in and out, her eyes wide and empty. She stared forward blankly, not respond when Naruto talked to her.

Lee dropped down beside Naruto. He reached out to put a hand on Sakura's shoulder. Something inside Sakura snapped, and she screamed. She arched her back and knocked Lee's hand away. "Sakura-chan! Calm down!" Lee held onto her shoulders to try and stabilize her as she thrashed. Blood was streaming down her side, and it didn't take a medic nin to see that she was tearing open her wound.

Sakura gave gasping cries as tears began to stream down her face. Her voice was raw with pain as she trembled weakly. Lee looked over helplessly to Naruto. He gave a silent plea asking what to do, but Naruto just shook his head. No one their age had been in a circumstance like this before. Being here now left them both confused.

Lee hugged Sakura and let her cry, gently patting her on the back. Naruto stood up and looked over to the two heaps on the ground. "I'll be back," Naruto murmured. He ran over to Kiba and Akamaru and knelt on the ground. Naruto bit his lip when he saw Kiba lying face down, crushing Akamaru's back legs. The blonde gingerly rolled Kiba off the small dog. Akamaru gave a small whimper as the pressure was alleviated off of his back legs.

Naruto petted the brown and white dog quietly, and looked over to Kiba. He had no idea what on earth he was doing. He wasn't a medic. Kurama had always healed his injuries, so it had never really been a problem for him. Seeing Kiba like this reminded him again about how fragile people were. They broke too easily.**Put your hand on his chest.**

"Huh?" Naruto asked blankly.**I said, put your hand on his chest. Stupid brat, just do it!**Naruto reluctantly obeyed. Kiba took a breath in, and Naruto's hand lifted. Well, part of Naruto's hand. Naruto's eyes widened as the left side of Kiba's chest dipped down as he inhaled.**Che. Get him on his side. Keep his good side up.**

Naruto slumped Kiba up against a tree, the broken ribs leaning against the ground. He gave a small sigh of relief before turning back to Akamaru. The branches rustled above him. Naruto looked up to see Kei and Shikamaru standing in the trees. Kei cursed under her breath before dropping down to the floor. She wobbled back and forth slightly before stumbling over towards Sakura.

Shikamaru followed after her and dropped Sasuke against the tree beside Sakura. Sasuke's injuries on his hands and stomach had been sown together and the bleeding had stopped. He was still unconscious, breathing in small breaths. The only difference now was that his face was scrunched up in pain.

"Sakura-san, take a deep breath. Look at me, Sakura-san." Kei forced Sakura to look at her. Sakura shook and closed her eyes. She swayed back and forth before slipping forward, collapsing into Kei's arms. Kei jumped slightly before patting Sakura's head gently. "Lee-san, you were here, correct? What happened to her? She isn't hurt like how Uchiha-san was."

"There was this very unyouthful man who had Sakura-chan pinned up against the ground! He..." Lee raised a brow before continuing, "He bit Sakura-chan on the neck. He escaped later though." Lee's voice fell, and he hung his head. He was unable to save Sakura, and he failed at capturing her attacker. He had been frozen in the moment. He was a pathetic excuse for a ninja.

Kei brushed Sakura's long hair away from her neck and frowned. Three black commas were etched into the girl's skin. Kei looked over to where Sasuke was and then back to Sakura. Sasuke had the same symbols on his neck. She knew that Sakura and Sasuke were not close friends, so it wouldn't have been a friendship tattoo. And with the information that Lee had given her, it wasn't hard to piece together the puzzle. The only question was what on earth did the symbol stand for?

"She's suffering from trauma. She has no potentially fatal injuries. Rest easy, Lee-san," Kei said, grabbing her notebook out from her jacket strap. She grabbed a pen and flipped open to one of the blank pages. She drew the seal out into the book before snapping it shut. She moved Sakura's hair back over the mark and stood up. Nausea hit her, and she leaned back against the tree.

She covered her mouth with her hand and shut her eyes. "Are you all right, Kei-san?" Shikamaru asked, putting a hand on her shoulder. Kei nodded and walked over to where Naruto was. She brushed away her sickness and told herself to think about that later. There were people who were much more ill than she, and she had to help.

"He has a few fractured ribs. On his left side," Naruto said simply, staring at Kiba blankly. Kei frowned at the monotone in Naruto's voice and looked down at Kiba. She felt his chest and sighed when she felt the broken ribs.

"Four of them to be precise," she commented, standing up. "We need to get him to a hospital." She pushed her out of her face and looked over to Naruto. "Do you think you can carry them? Hyuuga-san is already carrying Tenten-san, and I assume that Uchiha-san and Sakura-san also need to be carried." Kei glanced over to where Lee was daintily picking up Sakura.

"I can work with it." Naruto mumbled. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. It wouldn't do any of them any good if they were all glum. He had to try and keep spirits up for now. "So don't you worry, Kei-chan!" He gave a smile and hoped it looked real. He picked up Akamaru and tucked him carefully under his arm. Kiba was a bit harder to pick up, but Naruto managed to prop him up over his own shoulder.

"Then we should go." Kei said tiredly. She looked over to Shikamaru who had Sasuke tossed over his shoulder. Shikamaru gave a weary nod. He wasn't athletic, even after running around Konoha with Naruto. He hoped that it wouldn't take them that long to arrive to the tower or else he would probably strain something.

The genin pushed on through the forest, making their way towards the center of the arena. A white tower could just be made out over the tree cover. It seemed closer than how it was twenty minutes ago. Hopefully, that meant they would arrive soon. Lee ran below them on the ground, his feet a blur. Being the only one that couldn't shunshin, he had to run double time to keep up with them. He kept up his pace as he began to run ahead of the others.

He counted his steps as he ran, keeping himself on tempo. He had failed in protecting Sakura, but now he had to get her medical attention. He couldn't fail again! A blur ahead of him caused him to skid to a stop.

Anko stepped out from behind the trees, walking right into Lee's path. Lee barely managed to stop in time, instead creating a cloud of dust. Anko coughed and waved the dust away to see Lee standing with Sakura in his arms. She raised an eyebrow and looked up into the trees where the other genin were standing.

"Dang. You all look like you've gone through a grinder. What happened to you, brats?" The purple haired kunoichi walked towards them. Anko crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her foot impatiently.

"Team 9 helped us when we were ambushed by two other teams, but Team 7... We only saw one guy take them out. He was strange," Naruto said, dropping down to the ground. "His skin wasn't just pale. It was... white."

Anko's head snapped over to Naruto. "Was his hair black?" She demanded.

Naruto thought about what Kurama had told him about Orochimaru. Orochimaru had to be really strong, and if he was from Kurama's time it made sense that he wasn't really a genin. "Yeah, that's right. Do you know him?"

"All too well, brat. You all continue with the exam. I have to deal with this problem," Anko growled before shunshining past the confused genin. She flashed through the trees, using herself as a human compass. She had felt a clenching in her stomach when the exams had started, but she had written it off as nerves. It was her first time proctoring after all. However, a few hours into the exam and the feeling didn't go away.

She had gone into the forest, trying to find the reason for the feeling. However, the pit in her stomach only grew as she looked. Anko found herself unable to shake the sense of foreboding in her, but now she knew the reason why. Her old sensei was here. Anko covered the side of her neck as she ran through the trees. The curse mark burned on her skin. It knew that its master was around here. Anko gritted her teeth and dug her nails into her skin.

She just had to find the snake and deal with him. She saw a glimpse of white to the left and turned to follow after it. She skidded to a stop when she saw Orochimaru sitting calmly on the ground. It was as if he was waiting for her to arrive. "Ahh, Anko-chan. I've missed you so very much," Orochimaru hissed out, a cruel smile on his face.

"Go die, Orochimaru," Anko snapped. "What are you even doing here? Are you trying to start a war?" The curse mark burned deeper into her skin. She flung silent profanities at the man for doing this to her. She felt so weak like this and she loathed it.

Orochimaru just smiled blandly and shook his head. "I met two very interesting children today, Anko-chan. One of them had the sharingan, but the other one had a fire in her heart that desired revenge. They'll be your new family, Anko-chan. They share my mark, just like you." Orochimaru tilted his head to the side and licked his lips.

"You know, you and that girl are quite alike. Always striving to be the best you can be, but always being pushed back down. I wouldn't be surprised if she turned out like you in a few years."

"She won't," Anko said sharply. "I won't let her turn out like me. I only turned out this way because I was alone, but she won't be. I'll be there for her."

Orochimaru gave a rasping laugh. "Oh really now Anko-chan? We'll see about that." He moved his hands together to form a seal, and pain spiked in Anko's cursed seal. Orochimaru walked over to Anko who shook, trying to get a hold of herself. He tilted her head up so that she'd look towards him and said, "You always were a failed experiment. I kept you alive because you'd have some use to me, so try and show me that it was worth it."

His hand fell away, and he disappeared into the darkness of the forest.

-TSUME-

Black coils stretched across Sasuke's skin, giving the appearance of black fire. His eyes were glazed as he took a step back. Shikamaru stepped forward to try and calm him, but only ended up infuriating the Uchiha. "Get away from me! I'll kill you!" He yelled, charging at Shikamaru.

Sasuke seemed to have gotten second wind after his injuries, Shikamaru, on the other hand, had not. Shikamaru ducked and rolled out of the way of Sasuke's fist, but instead received a kick to the stomach. He slipped back a few feet before diving out of the way of a kunai. "We're on your side, Uchiha-san!"

"No one is on my side! You all just want something from me like all the others! Do you expect me not to see that?" Sasuke growled, a black aura seeping from his skin. Kei swallowed. The amount of killer intent he was blowing out was enormous. She hadn't felt anything like this since_that time_. She froze in place as Shikamaru continued to try and dodge the boy.

Naruto set Akamaru and Kiba on the ground and moved to try and restrain Sasuke. "We don't want anything except to get you to a medic! You're going to rip open your wounds!" Naruto yelled, grabbing Sasuke's arms.

The black haired boy hissed and reversely gripped Naruto's arms and flung him to the ground. Air rushed out of Naruto's chest as Sasuke punched him in the head. From the corner of Kei's eyes, she saw Lee looking for a place to set down Sakura and Neji trying to figure out how he could attack without hurting Naruto.

Kei bit her lip and put her hands together and signed, "**Gyoushuku Mizu no Hari no Jutsu!**" A small ball of water appeared just above Sasuke's head before darting down to strike Sasuke at his neck. Sasuke wobbled before falling unconscious over Naruto. Naruto shoved the clan heir off of him before brushing himself off.

"Good job, Kei-chan! Oi, Kei-chan?" Naruto looked over to Kei, concerned.

Kei had dropped to her knees, a hand covering her mouth. The world had started spinning around in circles. She stared at a rock on the ground, trying to stabilize her vision. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to look. It was the wrong move. She shut her eyes tightly and swayed from where she sat. The darkness enveloped her and she slumped into the hand, unconscious.

"Kei-san!" Shikamaru caught Kei as she fell over. She had knocked herself into a chakra-deficient coma. He clicked his tongue and looked over to Naruto. "I don't think we'll be able to carry all of them."

Naruto bit his thumb. Shikamaru was right. Lee and Neji were already tired and he was already struggling to carry Kiba and Akamaru. He supposed that he could use a Kage bunshin. Those only dispersed when he ordered them to or if they were hit. All of the unconscious ninja had low chances of waking up at this point.

Naruto looked over towards Neji. Lee hadn't studied in ninjutsu, instead spending that time to learn more taijutsu. Lee would be unable to realize something was weird with his clone, but Neji would be more difficult. If Neji used Byakugan on the clone, he would realize that it had a chakra circuit. Most clones were only masses of formed chakra that had no internals.

Naruto looked at all of the ailing genin. They couldn't afford to leave any of them behind. He'd have to risk Neji. Naruto signed quickly before whispering, "**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**!" A cloud of smoke rose as dozens of clones appeared. Naruto used the cloud to conceal the clones as he dispersed all but on. It was a bloody nuisance that he was still unable to summon only a few clones.

Once the smoke thinned, Naruto stepped away from his clone. He had whispered it hurried orders to carry Sasuke. Normal clones just mimed. They were unable of conversing or understanding anything, so he couldn't just command it to do something. The clone walked past a stunned Lee to where Sasuke was splayed out on the ground. It reached a hand under Sasuke's back and slung him over its shoulder.

"Naruto-kun! How did you make such a clone? I have seen nothing like it before!" Lee exclaimed, examining the clone curiously.

"It is a modification I made off a real clone," said Naruto hurriedly. "We should get moving again though. We've already delayed long enough."

Neji looked at the clone skeptically before glancing back over to Naruto. Something didn't seem right about the clone. Naruto wasn't controlling its actions with a seal plus it was touchable. It wasn't an illusion like most clones. It wasn't something that a normal genin would learn. Even if they did learn it, why hadn't he learned about it earlier? He was sure that Hiashi would have told him about it. Naruto didn't have a clan now. It was common knowledge that he was an orphan, so it couldn't be a clan technique.

Neji nodded and waited for the others to get ready. When Shikamaru and Lee were prepared, they all set off again. Naruto hopped ahead of them and Neji took the chance. He whispered a quick "Byakugan". The veins pulsed on the side of his head and the world turned grayscale around him. His line of sight moved forward to where Naruto and his clone were bouncing.

Neji frowned. Naruto's signature and his clone's signature were near identical. The only reason he could tell them apart was because one was carrying Sasuke and the other was carrying Akamaru and Kiba. He had seen enough clones in his time to know that it definitely wasn't normal. He shut his eyes and dispersed the Byakugan as he landed on another tree. He'd have to talk to Naruto about this later.

* * *

**Author's Note: Hey everyone! My next paragraph or so is going to be a list of excuses and rambles about my life which may or may not matter to you. It will impact my writing though, so maybe you might be interested.**

**This week has been a very long week for me. As a warning, next week I have an out of state debate tournament. This means I have the joy of being locked in a car for six hours without Wi-Fi. And then I get to debate for... Eleven hours on the first day and nine and a half on the second day. In summation, this is my excuse in case I don't post my chapter on time. My brain will have melted after rambling about military policy, so I may pass out. Thanks for putting up with me though!**

**I'm a cancer kid, and a few days ago, we bumped up my medication to a higher dosage. I am currently just about as competent as a sick cow. I'll try to keep churning out these updates, but it might affect my fluency.**

**Thanks to Pokepikachu1 for betaing me again! Sorry this was in late... again. :'D**

**And thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing!**


	25. Self-Inflicted Wounds

I have these accidents, these mistakes, these self-inflicted wounds, and then I tear my head to shreds about it for days.  
**-John Mayer**

Chapter 24: Self-Inflicted Wounds

They arrived at the tower an hour later. However, after waiting five minutes at the door, they realized that no one was coming for them. They piled the injured up by the side of the building before Shikamaru, Naruto, Neji, and Lee clustered together, trying to figure out what to do.

"Mitarashi-sensei told us to head to the tower once we had the scrolls. I don't see what else we have to do since we have already completed the requirements," Neji said. He had stacked Team 9's scrolls in front of him and was staring at them curiously. He had already used the Byakugan on them, but they were normal seals. There was a bit of chakra residue in the center, but nothing out of the ordinary.

"There has got to be something we are overlooking. It isn't logical that they would simply leave this up to chance," Shikamaru said, fingering his earth scroll. He tossed it up in the air and caught it again. "Does anyone remember the instructions?"

"Two scrolls, center of the arena, don't open the scrolls," Neji reiterated, raising an eyebrow. "We fulfilled all the requirements. They can't ask any more of us, and this is wasting our time anyways. What I'm surprised about is the fact that there is no guard at the door to let people in. If they don't open the door when we knock, how do they know that we are here?"

Shikamaru snatched the scroll out of the air and whacked his head lightly with it. "Of course! Naruto-san, hand me the heaven scroll." Naruto scrunched up his face before handing the white scroll over to Shikamaru. Upon receiving the other scroll, Shikamaru snapped the seal and rolled it out on the ground. Naruto yelped as Shikamaru broke the earth scroll's seal and rolled it on top of the heaven scroll.

"What are you doing?" Naruto shouted. A puff of white smoke filled the air, causing all the genin to back away from the two scrolls.

"Ah, it looks like you succeeded." A cheery voice called out from the mist. The white fog cleared away to reveal Inoichi standing there with a polite smile on his face. "I was hoping that you would all pass. You made me worry, you know."

-TSUME-

Soon after, they broke the seals on the other scrolls and Kakashi and Gai appeared in the smoke. Since all the genin had survived the arena with no deaths and only critical injuries, they were allowed into the tower. Kei, Tenten, and Team 8 were immediately carted off to the intensive care unit with the other genin being treated for minor injuries.

Naruto was released from the medic station fifteen minutes later, being found to only have unsubstantial wounds. It was another thing to thank Kurama for, though he would never admit it.

A hand grasped his shoulder, and Naruto looked to see Neji standing by him. Neji nodded towards a corner of the large room before walking away. Naruto followed the Hyuuga over to the corner before asking, "What's up, Hyuuga-san?"

"I want to know how you created that clone. It's unlike anything I've ever seen before. No clone should be actually in existence. I honestly doubt that a mere genin would be able to create such a powerful seal without the rest of the town hearing about it." Neji crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall.

Naruto cringed a bit at the question and rubbed the back of his head. He had visited T&I enough to know that Hyuugas could read chakra flares with their Byakugan. Chakra flared when people lied, and it would be painfully obvious if he wasn't telling the truth. "I can't tell you that, Hyuuga-san. I'm sorry."

A frown touched Neji's lips. "Would an exchange of information be more amenable to you?" He tapped a foot on the ground, trying to get a read on the blonde. He didn't need to activate his Byakugan to tell that Naruto was feeling guilty. The small beads of sweat on his brow and the nervous twitch of his arm was enough to tell that. The only question was: why was he feeling guilty?

"That would work, but could you tell your secret first?" Naruto bit the inside of his lip. It would look worse if he tried to avoid the question. He hoped that the information he would receive from Neji would be worth it. And that Neji wouldn't blabber to anyone else. That would be the end of him if it was let out.

"I... I was working with them. Rika-san and the others," Neji said haltingly. The pale boy ran a hand through his hair sighed at Naruto's startled face. "You flatter me if you consider it to be at all surprising. I know that you already knew about the rebellion. I read Rika-san's lips with the Byakugan. You didn't seem that surprised by it then. Your chakra flare was minimal; it seemed that you were only just admitting to yourself that it was true." Neji shrugged before continuing. "I hate how the shinobi treat civilians. They're all so careless. We're supposed to be the protectors, not the prosecutors. I want for something to change, but I also know that brutality isn't the answer. I had been willing to work with the rebellion because of it, but..."

Neji frowned. "I hadn't expected Rika-san to hurt Tenten so willingly. I had been promised that as long as my teammates didn't find out about the rebellion, they would be kept safe. I was wrong to trust them like that. But it still doesn't change my mind about how shinobi are treating civilians. The only thing that has changed is the way that I will go about trying to fix the problem. I don't know how I will do it, but I will do it somehow." Neji looked away to where they could just see a glimpse of white from inside the medic quarters.

"You're right. I can't say that I'm surprised, but I didn't want it to be true. I could tell something changed after Tenten-san was hurt. That was the first clue. There were a few things afterwards that clued me in as well. I respect your decision though. You do realize that I'm going to have to tell the Hokage, right?" Naruto said, crossing his arms.

"Mm. I know." Neji closed his eyes and bowed his head slightly. "There wouldn't be a single leader that would let a soldier get away with such disrespect. I deserve it."

Naruto couldn't help but feel guilty. Neji wasn't a bad person; he was just doing a good thing by the wrong route. "Well, maybe you can redeem yourself a bit."

"How so?" Neji quirked a brow.

"You know more about the rebellion than any of us do. If you exchange information, I'm sure that would work towards your pardon." Naruto secretly hoped that he wasn't lying between his teeth. It seemed reasonable to trade information for a lesser punishment. "How far back does the rebellion go?"

Neji smirked a bit. He knew it wasn't something to be proud of, but he would always enjoy knowing something that someone else didn't. "I can't say exactly how far back it goes, but I know Hiashi-sama is involved. I was kept in the dark for a majority of the rebellion meetings. My information was fed directly from him. Any work I had to do was give to me by Hiashi-sama and by no one else."

Naruto pondered the new information. They had all suspected some of the clan heads to be in on it, but Hiashi was unexpected. Hiashi had always appeared to be more political instead of militaristic. "Can you try and stay with the traitors for now? We might need someone on the inside for future operations."

"Always thinking a step ahead, are you? Sure, I'll be there," Neji said with a mocking nod of his head. "Now how about your secret?"

Naruto gave a soft "eep" before blushing a slight red. He had hoped that Neji had forgotten about that, but apparently not. "It's not a jutsu that I'm supposed to know. If you know what I mean, that is." Neji hummed in acknowledgement and rocked back and forth on the back of heels.

"How did you learn it?" Neji asked.

Naruto gave a small smile and said, "Only one secret, Hyuuga-san. I never said that I would reveal two."

Neji gave a short laugh before shaking his head. He pushed off the wall and patted Naruto on the shoulder. "I got it. I'll keep in touch. I have to go check on Tenten-san."

-TSUME-

"Inoichi-sensei!" The mentioned blonde looked up from his pile of paperwork and gave a small smile. He laid the pen down on the paper stacks and rose from the jounin table. Inoichi bade the jounin a quick goodbye before walking towards Naruto. Inoichi caught Naruto in a hug, sighing in relief. Ever since they had entered the forest, he had been worried about them. He knew that Naruto would be able to take care of himself, but he couldn't help but worry. If any of them came back with a debilitating injury or if they didn't come back at all, it would have killed him.

"I'm glad you're safe, Naruto-kun. Do you want to tell me about what happened in there? I lost sight of you as soon as you entered the gates." Inoichi pulled away from Naruto and looked him in the eyes. A frown touched Inoichi's lips. There was something in Naruto's eyes that worried him. Did something bad happen in the forest? Inoichi's gaze flicked over to where Shikamaru was talking with some of the Kusa genin. He knew that he had seen them bring in Kei, and she hadn't sustained critical injuries. So what had happened in there to make the livewire like this?

"Can we go sit somewhere, Inoichi-sensei?" Naruto asked downcast. His forehead had tightened and there were wrinkles across his face. Now that they were out of the field of battle, he had been thinking. Thinking was a troublesome thing, and it only followed that he felt troubled after it. Shikamaru had told him in the forest that the genin were targeting him. That had to mean that they knew Kurama was in him. Kei and Shikamaru had gotten hurt because of him. If they had any other partner, the ambush wouldn't have been planned. He felt the deep seed of guilt worm around inside of him.

That wasn't the only consequence of their knowing though. Naruto had gotten used to the fact that next to no one outside of Tsume and Torture and Interrogation knew that he had the Kyuubi. The fact that all those genin knew was startling. Or perhaps they didn't know. Maybe he had only been a target to them. He doubted that he would ever know now. They would all try to avoid him as much as possible after losing. He had to wonder though, how many people knew that he was the Kyuubi? It was supposed to be an S Class secret.

"Come, Naruto-kun. There's a little cafe over here." Inoichi pulled Naruto through the halls. They entered a large room with booths lining the sides. One of the waiters waved to Inoichi as they moved to sit at one of the empty tables. Inoichi sat down on the red leather and waved for Naruto to sit on the other time. Naruto sat down and leaned over the wooden table.

"They know that I'm the jinchuuriki, Inoichi-sensei. They sent two genin teams to take me out during the exams." Naruto whispered hurriedly. He looked to the side a few times as he did so, careful not to speak too loudly when people passed. Chatter echoed in the hall, effectively covering the secret conversation. Inoichi appreciated the cover now. It was a lot to think about.

The black haired waiter walked over and dropped two cups down on the table. He poured out the steaming hot tea before walking away, leaving the two to their thoughts. "The Hokage will have to hear about this. I don't know how the information got leaked out. This means that some of the higher ups have to be on the opposite side. After I leave you, I will contact the Hokage about it. Thank you for letting me know."

Naruto nodded and sipped some of his green tea. He gave a small sigh. They had been focusing too much on the exams and not enough on the rebellion. Now, it was becoming blatantly obvious that it was all falling apart. Naruto knew that the rebellion was going to happen in the finals, but now he had to worry about it happening earlier. Would the exams even last to the finals? He didn't know anymore.

"I should let you know what I have found out as well. Naruto-kun, you'll have to tell Shikamaru-kun and Kei-chan later. I have to get to the Hokage as soon as this is over." Inoichi leaned over towards Naruto and said, "I've been in the jounin lounge for the majority of the exams. All the jounin sensei were told to wait there for when their scrolls were opened. The Ame jounin was missing for a majority of the meeting. I talked to him once he returned, but he seemed to not care about how his genin were doing. One of the Kusa jounin never arrived at the lounge either. The other Kusa nin said that he had been acting strangely. No one has seen him since then."

"Both the Kusa nin and the Ame nin fit the signs of being traitors. On the other hand..." Inoichi trailed off.

"It's too obvious. They would be more careful if they were really traitors, but they could also be counting on us thinking that." Naruto supplied, covering his mouth with his hand. He looked down at the table, his mind racing. The implications on the jounin's guilt reflected on the teams themselves. If the Kusa jounin was a traitor, it probably meant that Kusa as a whole was guilty as well.

"Right." Inoichi reached over and patted Naruto on the shoulder. "Keep an eye on it, but make sure you keep someone by you at all times. If they really are targeting you, they'll probably do it again. As long as you stay near others, I doubt they'll try it."

Naruto nodded and leaned back into his chair. He ran a hand through his hair and gave a sigh.

"Hey there." Naruto looked over to see Temari and Gaara. The blonde blew a strand of hair out of her face before asking, "Can we have a seat?"

Naruto jumped a bit before nodding hurriedly. Temari slid in beside Inoichi while Gaara moved to sit beside Naruto. Temari crossed her leg and leaned back against the red leather padding. "I heard something strange just a bit ago." Her green eyes moved from Inoichi to Naruto. Her gaze lingered for a moment before she shrugged and said, "Two Konoha genin teams were found in critical condition. Well, 'two genin were found in critical condition' is what I should say. The other four were found dead."

Naruto felt a prickling worry in his chest. Two genin teams? _Konoha _genin teams? It was sickeningly familiar to him. The faces of the genin that had ambushed Tsume flooded into his mind. Why were they dead? They hadn't left any of the genin with critical injuries. Sure, they had knocked a few of them out, but not more than that.

"They say that one of the survivors was only alive because he had such bad chakra burns. They think that whoever killed them left him for dead. He was lucky, that one," Temari said calmly. She softly rapped her fingers at the table as she read Naruto's face. He obviously knew the genin that she was talking about. Gaara had told her that he suspected that the genin had something to do with Naruto, but she hadn't been certain. "Did you?"

"No, we didn't," Naruto replied shortly. "They were just unconscious when we left them." Naruto bit his thumb tightly. How did this happen? **Obviously, they were killed on purpose. They didn't have the scrolls, so they couldn't have been killed for them. **The Kyuubi snorted in his mind. **Likely enough, it was because they failed their mission. I'm not surprised. A failure is a failure, and death makes it an example to the survivors. They are just unlucky that they didn't kill all of them.**

Naruto shook slightly as he hunched over the table. "What did the survivors look like?" He asked, his voice quavering.

"There was the one that I mentioned, a boy, with bad chakra burns. He might have been fair-skinned earlier, but no one can really tell now. He has been charred too much for that. He's in intensive, but they think he'll live. The other one though, they're not so sure about. She had a sword stabbed into her lung. They had the jounin bring her back in, and she's in surgery now. She had brown hair and looked like she was bleeding from the ankles as well. Her prognosis looks bad right now. I just thought you should know," Temari commented. She raised an eyebrow at Naruto's reaction. Why was he reacting so violently?

"I need to find someone." Naruto stood up abruptly at the table and looked over towards Gaara with pleading eyes. Gaara nodded and moved out of the booth. Naruto scooted out and ran out of the cafeteria. His pace quickened and his heart sped up. He had to find Neji. Rika and the others were all right when Tsume and 9 had left them. The only people that would kill them off would be the traitors. If the traitors had seen him talking to Neji earlier, Neji could be in danger. Naruto bit his lip and prayed that he wasn't already too late.

* * *

**Author's Note: I finished it in time! :D**

**I know some of you were interested in my debate, and the others weren't. So you can skip this if you don't care. XD I got a 2-6 record which means I lost 6. Yeah, it kind of stinks. I am apparently short unconfident and aggressive. I bully kids older than me and taller by a foot, so I don't quite know what to take from this. :'D I'm generally a social introvert, so I don't see myself as aggressive. Oh well. It's not as if I didn't spend 9 hours creating a single brief times fifteen briefs. Ha... **

**In any case, thanks Pokepikachu1 for betaing me and giving me advice! I really appreciate it! (: The rants are extremely helpful.**

**And thanks to all my readers and reviewers for continuing to read and support me!**


	26. Irreplaceable

The loss of life will be irreplaceable.  
**-Dan Quayle**

Chapter 25: Irreplaceable

A gasp escaped his chest as he was thrown against the wall. His head knocked back against the cold stone, sending pain coursing through his body. His legs buckled beneath him as he slid down towards the ground. A hand snatched his neck as he fell, pinning him against the rock. Neji's brown hair messily fell in front of his face, and his white eyes were wide. His heart pounded inside of him as he felt the familiar ice of a kunai against his neck.

"Neji-kun," the person crooned, "you know that we don't like traitors. I thought we were such good friends too. Would you really throw that all away so easily?" Nails traced his cheekbones as he stared back into her cruel eyes. "I mean, it's not as if there is anywhere for you to run to. You're_ours_, Neji-kun. You're a caged little bird with delusions of grandeur. Your wings were always clipped, Neji-kun. Did you really think that even if you escaped your cage that you would be able to fly?"

The nails dug into his skin, warm blood trickling down his cheek. His pupilless eyes looked away, trying to avoid her piercing gaze. She seemed to pick up on it as she leaned in nearer, "You did, didn't you? That's why I'm here now. Tut tut, Neji-kun. I know that you love your Tenten-chan ever so much, but was it really worth all this? For the love of a woman, a man was killed."

She pulled away and cocked her head to the side. "Ooh, I like the sound of that. Don't you think it would make a good novel, Neji-kun?"

Neji made no response, but instead tried to find a way to escape - a weakness to exploit while she was distracted with her monologue. "Are you thinking about escaping? Oh come now, I expected better. If you're going to die, you should face your death like a man!" The kunai dropped away from his throat, and Neji moved to get away. He made it half way across the room before she caught up to him again.

The metal dug into his stomach, protruding out the other side of his chest. Neji tried to make a noise, but she wrapped her hand tightly around his mouth. "Shh now, Neji-kun. You should be quiet. We can't have you betray us more than you have already. Who knows what filthy lies have come out of your mouth recently? If you're dying, you should tell me. What have you said and who have you said it to?"

As Neji sank to his knees, she propped her head on his shoulder and looked up at him. "Hmm? Why are you so quiet now, Neji-kun? Don't you want to tell little ol' me a secret? I might just happen to stumble upon a medic nin in time to save you if you do."

Neji coughed, tilting his head to the side before slamming his skull into hers. "That is just another lie, and we both know it. Do not believe that you can trick me anymore than you already have." The woman stumbled back, dragging the kunai out from his chest. She lifted a bloody hand to her forehead before glaring venomously at Neji.

"Oh, you will regret that,_Neji-kun_." She growled out the name. She got up onto her feet and shunshined over to Neji, kicking him soundly in the head. Neji didn't even have a chance. "Your defense of her is admirable, but your defense to this... unknown factor, is stupid. The difference between loyalty and stupidity is a very thin line. You've just crossed it. You're not telling me anything, so this person must exist. We'll find him, Neji-kun. We'll find him just like how we found you. We're everywhere, Neji-kun. This person won't be able to breathe without us noticing. Just. Like. You." She enunciated the words carefully as she crouched down in front of him.

"And now," she trailed off for a few moments before her eyes darkened. She raised the kunai up in the air, "DIE!" She plunged the kunai down, sinking it between his ribs. Neji grunted before falling limp on the ground.

-TSUME-

"Come on! Where is he?" Naruto slumped back against the plaster wall and held a hand to his forehead. Neji wasn't in Tenten's hospital room, the cafeteria, or the training rooms. It wasn't as if there were that many places for him to go since all exam participants were stuck in the same buildings. So where on earth was he?

**Calm yourself down, Naruto-brat. You're not going to find him if you're panicking. Just keep on moving,**Kurama growled in his head. Naruto took a deep calming breath before exhaling. There were other places to look, but it just seemed so unlikely that Neji would be there. The six genin's faces flooded his mind. What if Neji was already dead by now? Would it be Naruto's fault for not immediately bringing him to the Hokage?

Naruto shook his head vigorously. No, he couldn't think about that not. He just had to find Neji. The blonde pushed off the white walls and turned to continue down the hallway when he heard a scream. It was Hinata! Naruto's head whipped around and he sprinted down the hall where he had come from. His shoes thumped against the wood flooring as he rushed to the center hall.

He had only been there a few minutes ago. What could have happened to make Hinata scream like that? A cluster of people stood at the entrance to the room. Naruto shoved people out of the way as he made his way towards the middle of the room. Once he cut through the crowd, he stopped and stood still. The purple-haired kunoichi was on her knees, sobbing. Hinata had her hands covering her ears, and she was shaking her head in denial. "Neji-nii-sama!" Her voice broke as she wailed, and Naruto choked.

Right in front of her was Neji. Red stained his white shirt, a small pool forming on the ground. His right arm was bent awkwardly under him, and Naruto could see a shard of white bone sticking out of his arm. Naruto felt nausea creeping up in him. He may have been a ninja, but that didn't mean he was used to brutality. The genin in the forest had been left bruised and unconscious, but not half-dead. This... This reminded him of Aoi all over again.

Naruto looked up towards the rafters, trying to quell his stomach. He looked at the wooden beams before his eyes latched onto something. A red stain lined the middle of one of the planks. His eyes flicked down to where Neji was on the ground before looking back up. Had Neji been dropped from up there?

Feet pounded, and three medics rushed over to Neji's side. One of the nurses gently pulled Hinata away while the other two put their hands over Neji and performed an exam. "We need to bring him into surgery. Everyone clear out of the way!" The black haired nurse yelled as the male doctor scooped Neji up in his arms.

Naruto stepped out to the side as they ran past. He caught a glance of Neji in the man's arms. His face was chalk white, and his chest hardly rose when he breathed. It felt like he was looking into death.

-TSUME-

Naruto hunched over in his seat. His hands tightly gripped one another as he stared down at the ground. Hinata and Teru sat quietly off to the side, waiting for news on Neji's condition. Time passed so slowly now that they were there. All they could do was sit and wait. It was times like this that Naruto hated being able to think. It was too troublesome.

Now that he was here, he could only think about Neji. He remembered only a few minutes ago how he had been sitting and talking with Temari and Gaara. What was the purpose of knowing that Neji was in danger if he could not stop the event from taking place? Perhaps, he could have stopped it from happening. Or at least he could have stopped Neji from being dropped from the rafter. Something, anything that could have helped him.

Maybe he could have been a bit faster. Or maybe he could have actually looked up to see Neji in the rafters. He had been in the room only a few minutes before Hinata screamed in the first place. Perhaps he could have even seen the person that attacked Neji. Naruto buried his head in his hands. There were so many different outcomes that could have happened if only he had acted a little bit differently.

**Shut up, brat.**Naruto closed his eyes and internally seethed. He didn't want to deal with the Kyuubi's insults right now.**I'm not insulting you, boy. I'm trying to help you. Moping around all day won't help you or anyone else. What has happened has already happened, and you can't change it.**That was easy for Kurama to say. It wasn't his fault that Neji was like this.

**Don't sass me, boy,**Kurama snapped irritably.**It is the truth. You can spend a lifetime regretting or wanting revenge. After a few hundred years being stuck in various containers, you have time to think a bit. Watching through the eyes of my containers, I've seen more than you have. Some people get locked in the cycle of anger and sadness, but they never get out. It would be a nuisance if you became one of those people, so keep your face forward.**

Naruto bit the inside of his lip. It was easier said than done. One couldn't just give up guilt just like that.**I'm not telling you to give it up completely. Guilt is normal, Naruto-brat. What I'm telling you to do is to take it in stride and move on. Only stupid people tell others to let something go. Don't insult me by misconstruing what I say.**

The boy sighed and tilted his head over to the side. He supposed that he could try that... But it still felt so wrong. It was almost as if he'd be betraying Neji if he didn't feel bad about it.**Now you're making excuses. Just take my words and think about them for a bit. You'll eventually realize that I'm telling the truth if you have half a brain.**The Kyuubi's voice faded from his mind, and the hallway was quiet once more.

A flash of white swept past him as three medics rushed by. Naruto looked up as they all hurried into Neji's room. The door opened, and Naruto took a quick glance inside. Neji was tugging at the restraints on the bed, trying to escape whatever torment he was feeling. A medic was hovering over him, and Naruto heard the shouts of the head medic.

As the door slowly slid close, Naruto watched as Neji became weaker and weaker, eventually falling still. Naruto swallowed. Neji couldn't really be... could he? Naruto's fingers gripped the soft grey cushions of his chair. A few minutes passed before a somber blue haired doctor walked out of the hospital room. The doctor's eyes searched around the room before locking on the three genin that stared at him. "I trust you three are here for Hyuuga Neji-san?"

"Yes," Hinata said softly. She had her hands clasped firmly on her lap. The lines on her face showed her worry. Everyone knew that the Hyuuga cousins didn't have the best of relationships, but that didn't mean that they didn't care. They could fight, but they always made it up to one another in small ways. Even if it was just a simple helpful tip at the jyuuken, they rarely feuded for long. "What news do you bring of Neji-nii-sama?"

The doctor pulled off his glasses and gave a sigh. "Is your father not here, Hyuuga-san? It might be better if I talk to him first."

"No, he is not here. I am currently acting as Neji-nii-sama's nearest relative. You have no right to hide anything about his condition from me. Just tell me, how is he?" Hinata demanded. She straightened herself out and gave a small huff. She looked much more of the clan heir that she was destined to be than she was a few months ago.

The doctor rubbed his forehead and said, "Hyuuga Neji passed away fifteen minutes ago from complications after treatment. We attempted chakra shocking him back to life, but it failed. I'm sorry for your loss."

Hinata gasped, moving a hand to cover her mouth. Naruto stared at the doctor, shaking as he sat. It was his fault. Neji might have lived if only Naruto didn't try to keep a double agent. He should have talked to Inoichi before rashly ordering Neji to do that. If only he didn't do that, then maybe... Naruto buried his head in his hands and cried.

**Author's Note: I'm sorry that it's kind of creepy and sad. D: I struggled through most of the week about whether to write this or not, but I finally did. It's important for the story to progress the way I intend it to. Try to guess who the woman was that killed Neji. It would be interesting to see what you all think.**

**Thanks to Pokepikachu1 for betaing me again! :D I really appreciate it!**


	27. Mourning for You

After that I could never pass a dead man without stopping to gaze on his face, stripped by death of that earthly patina which masks the living soul. And I would ask, who were you? Where was your home? Who is mourning for you now?  
**-Ernst Toller**

Chapter 26: Mourning for You

The pitter patter of rain on the ground echoed in their ears. The sound drowned out the words of the minister as he stood in front of the hole in the ground. Four Hyuuga stood at the corners of the dank pit and tugged at the ropes they held in their hands. Slowly, they lowered the black casket into the depths. A yelp was heard as one of the ropes slipped from one of the man's grips. The other three grunted as the casket shifted before slipping out and dropping a foot to the ground.

A white-eyed man grunted and yelled for the priest to continue. The minister started before hurriedly continuing with the commemoration. Hiashi walked back to his umbrella beside his two daughters. His walk was followed by two piercing blue eyes. All Naruto could think of were some of Neji's last words, "I know Hiashi-sama is involved."

Did Hiashi order Neji's death? Was Hiashi okay with sacrificing one of his clan just like that? Naruto clicked his tongue before looking away irritably. The man didn't even have the decency to shed a tear. The corners of his eyes weren't even red. He was heartless.

Kei put a hand on his shoulder. His back loosened, and he looked over towards her despondently. Her eyes quietly conveyed her apologies. Naruto shook his head quietly before looking back to where the ceremony had continued. The Hyuuga clan members were now filling in the dirt. To be honest, the ceremony had been rushed. They just needed to get it done in a few days to continue with the exams. It "would have reflected poorly" if they didn't even offer Neji a burial before they continued. Neji's wake happened the day after his death, and he was buried only a day after that. It was too quick. It was as if it didn't matter how they honored him and that it was just a nuisance it had to happen in the first place.

"Thank you for coming here today. I am sure Neji-nii-sama would have appreciated your presence if he was here to tell you himself." Hinata rose from her chair and walked out from under the cover to stand in front of Neji's grave. She turned to look at the crowd and clasped her hands behind her back. "He had a long and prosperous future ahead of him that was robbed needlessly away from him. I have been assured by Hokage-sama that everything will be done to catch the one who did this. Until then, keep him in your heart until he finds peace."

"He would not want us to mourn over his death. Neji-nii-sama was too selfless for that." Hinata gave a choked laugh. "So we must keep him in our memories until we pass on." She bowed slightly before straightening. "I appreciate your coming here today, even those that did not know him well." She nodded towards the foreign genin that had been placed off to the side. "The ceremony is over, but Neji-nii-sama lives through us. Thank you for coming."

She looked at the earth mound behind her sadly before walking quickly towards her father. She ducked under the black umbrella, her pale skin standing out starkly from the sea of black clad mourners behind her. Hinata lifted up her hand to rub her eyes before looking up to face the oncoming crowd.

Teru immediately slipped out of his seat and headed over to where Hinata was. Kei watched through the swarming crowds as he put his hand on the purple-haired girl's shoulder. He leaned into her ear and whispered something to which she blinked a few times. Teru rolled his eyes before repeating the phrase. Kei wished that the crowds could all disappear. Oh, what she would give to hear what they were saying. She wanted to know what caused Hinata to jump in shock like that.

Hinata whispered hurriedly back to Teru before giving him a slight push. The blonde nodded before scurrying away from the burial grounds. Kei frowned. They were being awfully furtive. She doubted that Teru was giving his condolences.

Naruto got up from his seat and stretched. "Well, let's go wait our turn." The black sea had thickened, leaving Tsume on the outskirts. Naruto could just see a bit of dark brown, and sighed. His eyes turned up towards the sky as water continued to pour.

"People say that rain is the tears of angels," Kei said, shifting underneath her umbrella. "Do you think that is true?"

Shikamaru shrugged, "Whether it is true or not doesn't matter. It is convenient though." Shikamaru moved a few steps forward as the crowd lurched ahead.

"How so?" Kei asked.

"It helps hide the tears a little bit. Some need it more than others." Shikamaru cocked his head to the side, and Naruto's gaze trailed to the right. Lee and Gai had walked up to the grave and were kneeling in front of it. Lee had a hand covering his face, but his tears were audible even from so far away. Gai had a hand around his protégé's shoulders.

The two had traded away their usual green jumpsuits for the traditional black suit. Lee's other hand dug into the wet dirt as he mourned the loss of his friend and rival. It reminded Naruto that this didn't have to happen. He vaguely recalled one of Iruka's speeches during the academy.

"_Everything has a consequence. If you buy dango, the storekeeper gets money. If the storekeeper gets money then he can spend it to buy more clothes. If the clothes store owner wants to pay for an assassin, the money he earns might just cover it. One might say that if you didn't buy the dango, then perhaps the person that just got assassinated might have lived. They would have had a little more time and maybe they would have been a little more prepared."_

_Iruka looked over his students. "But the man's death is not the fault of the person who bought the food. They didn't know that it would happen, so even if they find out, they should not feel guilt. Does that make sense to you all?"_

"_But Iruka-sensei, that will never happen!" An obnoxious genin complained from the back of the room._

"_It will happen, Naruto-kun. All ninja have this happen to them. One day, you'll think, "Could I have prevented this? Is his death my fault?" It will not be, but it will feel like it." Iruka replied solemnly._

"_Not if I protect them all! I won't let any of my friends die!"_

He had been just a child then. He'd been a child that didn't understand the ways of the world. Now, so many years later, he regretted that he didn't take Iruka's words a little bit more seriously.

"You had better not fail me, Hinata." Naruto looked over his shoulder to see Hiashi talking to his daughter. "I had some hopes of allowing Neji-kun to replace you as heir, but apparently that is not to be. Now that he is gone, I am stuck with you. If I tried to allow Hanabi to take your place, the other clans would view us as weak through you."

Hinata flinched and whispered something softly, looking down at a tuft of grass. Hiashi shook his head before adding, "Get into the final four. That's the least you can do, can't you? Maybe I shouldn't have such high expectations for you. I should be thankful that you haven't killed yourself out of your own stupidity yet."

Hiashi clicked his tongue at the shivering girl. "I will be talking to some of the foreign mourners. Do not embarrass me here." Hinata nodded hurriedly, and Hiashi walked away. The girl gave a relieved sigh before turning to look at the next arrival.

"Ah, Uzumaki-san! Thank you for coming." Hinata bowed slightly, but Naruto stopped her.

"It's all right. I'm sorry for your loss, and... I'm sorry about your father as well," Naruto added quietly, glancing in the direction where Hiashi had gone. The man was talking to the Otokage with a polite smile on his face.

"Ah, I'm sorry you had to see that." Hinata quieted a bit before saying, "I don't really know what I am supposed to do now. Normally, I would always ask Neji-nii-sama. He'd tell me to leave him alone and that it was stupid to be worried over such a thing." Hinata smiled softly, "But then I'd wake up in the morning to find a note on my desk. He'd write and tell me what to do even if he didn't tell me face to face. I don't know what to do now though..."

Hinata's face fell, and she blew out a sigh. "There's no one in the clan house that's willing to give me an honest opinion like he would give me. What do you think I should do, Uzumaki-san?"

Naruto bit his lip and tilted his head to the side. "It's hard to know what to say. I'm sure that he'd want you to stay strong even if he can't help you out now. You have a team now. They're there to help you when you're down. So is your sensei, so it's not as if you're completely alone now."

Hinata laughed lightly, "I guess that is true."

"Hinata, we have to leave now!" Hiashi's voice trailed over the crowd.

"Ah, I'm coming!" She looked back over to Naruto and said, "Thank you for your advice. I... I think I know where I'm going now. I appreciate it." She turned and swept away, leaving Naruto behind.

"It's nothing," Naruto said quietly. He looked over to where Kei and Shikamaru were talking to Inoichi and then back to Hinata. "Good luck." He turned away from the heiress and walked back to his team.

-TSUME-

Naruto walked quietly into the room and huddled off to the side with Kei and Shikamaru. They were starting up the exams again. It seemed so soon after the death, yet so long. The days had been passing slowly for all of them. Perhaps this would help them speed up a little bit.

A pale jounin walked on the overhang and slowly made his way to the center of the pathway. He leaned forward on the handrail as the genin streamed in. It was plainly obvious that he was feeling sick. The man was clinging to the bars as if they were his lifeline.

"I..." He started before giving a throaty cough. "My name is Gekko Hayate. I will be your proctor for the remaining sections of the exams. It is an honor to be leading you." He bobbed his head up and down slightly before trying to straighten himself out.

"As you can probably tell," Hayate pointed towards two chuunin in the corner of the room before gesturing towards the large doors that guarded the room, "there are quite a few teams in this section of the exams. A total of thirteen teams completed the section portion of the exams in time. This means that thirty-nine peop- thirty-eight people, excuse me, are competing in this section of the exam."

Hayate caught himself belatedly, reminding everyone of the events that transpired a few days ago. "In any case, thirty-eight is too large of a number. The finals will have less than twenty genin competing due to time limits and arena count. This is why we must have another portion of the exams to lower the number."

"You will all participate in one-on-one battles with your fellow genin. Nation protection is off due to a majority of Konoha genin making it through to this portion of the exams. We will not take complaints if a smaller nation fights someone of their same nation." Hayate looked down at the genin like a vulture before continuing, "The matches are randomized and will be displayed on the screen behind m-"

Suddenly, the doors to the room were flung open. The genin winced at the loud sound the doors made as they were slammed against the wall. A brown haired girl stalked into the room with a dark glower on her face. Naruto almost didn't recognize her for a moment before it clicked. It was Tenten. Her hair was down and was a mess; clearly she hadn't felt like dealing with it for the past few days.

"You've got to be joking! How could you just continue with this as if Neji-kun's death had never happened? It has been less than a week, and you're already back here ready to participate in some stupid tournament? There hasn't even been an opportunity for a serious investigation into who killed him!" Tenten shouted angrily, stamping her foot on the ground.

"He got killed during the chuunin exams! Doesn't anyone think that this might be a good time to stop them in case more deaths happen? But no, you're just going to continue on_without_finding his murderer!" She clenched her fist tightly and shook her head from side to side.

Hayate coughed awkwardly at the front of the room. "Now, Tenten-san, I know that you just lost your teammate. Hokage-sama has jounin out trying to find the culprit. We are trying to find out what happened, but the world cannot stop for him. We've been planning this chuunin exam for over a year now. Despite this happening, it cannot be stopped. I hope you understand."

"No, I don't understand!" Tenten snatched a kunai out from her side pocket and hurled it at Hayate's head. The brown haired man leaned out of the way as the kunai embedded two inches into the wall behind him. "You're talking about these exams as if they are worth more than his life! His murderer could be in this room, and you wouldn't be able to do a single thing about it!"

A hushed chatter circulated around the room. Could the murderer really be one of the genin in the exams? What if they had to battle the murderer in the semi-finals or the finals? They didn't want to do that at all!

"Tenten-san." Hayate's voice dropped as the murmur became ever louder. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave the hall if you cannot control yourself. No exam is worth more than someone's life, but we cannot do anything more than what we are doing now."

"I'm not going to leave unless you tell me who killed him!" Tenten yelled back. She moved to grab something else to throw at him, but was stopped as someone grabbed her arm. Tenten tried to tug her arm out of Gai's grip, but it was no use. The senbon that was clutched weakly in her hand fell down to the ground.

She hung her head sadly and let her hair drift in front of her face. "I'll take her out. I apologize for the commotion." Gai said, looking up at Hayate. The jounin nodded and coughed. "Let's go, Tenten." He pulled on her arm lightly, trying to get her to move.

"I promise," Tenten whispered, "I promise that I won't let Neji-kun's killer get away with this." She looked up and glared at all of the genin. "No matter who it is, I will find them and make them pay. No matter what nation they are from. You understand me? If his murderer was any one of you, then don't expect to live much longer."

Tenten yanked her arm out of Gai's hold. She swiped the senbon from the ground before storming back out of the doors. Gai quickly followed after her, closing the doors behind the two of them.

"Tenten-san has been disqualified for disorderly conduct. I trust that none of you are eager to follow her example?" Hayate surveyed the crowd before hacking into his fist. "Right, now let's continue on with the exams. The names of the first two competitors will be up on the screen behind me. For those not named, please evacuate to the stands."

Lee stared longingly at the shut doors before turning back towards the front of the room. "I'll promise, Tenten-chan. I promise that I'll win the exams for you and Neji-san." His eyes glowed with determination as he stared up to monitor. He'd leave the investigation to Tenten and win in their honor.

-TSUME-

Orange names flashed across the screen, rapidly changing until finally a loud bing sounded. The two names clicked into place and glowed eerily on the screen. "Good luck, Shimizu-san," Shino said, pushing his glasses farther up on his face.

"To you as well, Aburame-san. I have to admit that it is surprising that I am facing you this round. Let's make it exciting for the viewers." Kei slipped her notebook out from under her arm and handed it to Shikamaru. "Hold this for me. I don't want to damage it accidentally."

Shikamaru nodded, taking the notebook. He shunshined up onto the higher level, clearing the central arena. Kei's golden eyes flicked up to where Hayate was standing. "Well, are you going to cue the beginning?"

"Ah, yes." Hayate cleared his throat. "Genin, get into your battle stances. The battle will begin in three." Kei flipped open her weapons pouch, keeping a careful eye on Shino. He didn't seem to move at all, even with Hayate's warning. She knew that Aburame were able to connect with their bugs, but she would have thought that it would require some sort of tangible communicator. She couldn't detect any substantial chakra pulses, but maybe they were weak enough so that enemies couldn't feel them.

"Two," Hayate's voice cut into her thoughts, and she edged a few steps away from Shino. The gray-clad genin remained frozen as Hayate counted down. "One, begin!"

* * *

**Author's Note: It's really interesting to read all of your guesses for the culprit! About half of you are wrong, but that's all I can say. (: At least one person mentioned the guilty party! I'll be subtly giving out clues until I finally reveal who it is in an upcoming chapter.**

**Thanks to Pokepikachu1 for betaing me even though I consistently turn in late chapters. This will be bad if I get a time-conscious job...**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing!**


	28. Conviction

There can be no great courage where there is no confidence or assurance, and half the battle is in the conviction that we can do what we undertake.  
**-Orison Swett Marden  
**

Chapter 27: Conviction

The kikaichu crawled out from Shino's sleeves, swarming over his hands. Kei grimaced, moving farther away from the black cloud that was surrounding Shino. She had known about the Aburame's kikaichu, but it was hard to prepare oneself for being attacked by thousands of little bugs. She didn't know much about the Aburame clan techniques. She knew that most of the clan members became trackers in their later years, so she assumed that the kikaichu helped with that. She also knew that the bugs siphoned chakra away from those that they landed on. Unfortunately, that knowledge would not help her very much here.

The black swarm flew up in the air before diving at her. She rolled out of the way and began jumping around the arena. She just had to buy time right now. If she faced them head on, all of her chakra would be depleted. That was the last thing she wanted right now. She shunshined to the other side of the arena, thinking of a way to take out the swarm. The bugs were not that fast, so it was easy to outrun them. Every time she crossed the arena, she gained about ten seconds.

Her golden eyes flicked over to where Shino stood in the center of the arena. It was safe to assume that he kept some of his swarm with him at all times, so attacking head on was a bad idea. That meant she had to attack long distance. But he swarm would intercept any senbon that she threw at them. So what would reach him from a long distance?

She shot over to the opposite side of the arena, and an idea struck her. Kei clapped her hands together, smearing her palms together. The buzz of the kikaichu sounded in her ear. She whirled on her heels and spread her hands out, a thin watery filament stretching between her two fingers. The water wobbled in the air as the bugs neared.

Kei pulled her arms closer to her chest before thrusting them out, releasing her chakra hold on the water. The water splashed forward, showering the kikaichu. The water dampened their wings, and dozens of kikaichu fell to the ground. Kei eeped and dodged out of the way as another group of kikaichu filled the places of the fallen. Kei eyed the kikaichu that were struggling on the ground before shunshining across the arena again. She could work with this.

"**Gyoushuku Mizu no Hari no Jutsu!**" Kei landed on the dirt before whirling around and flicking her hands at Shino. A sliver of water appeared in the air before firing off towards Shino. Shino hummed as a cloud of kikaichu dived in front of the water, falling down as they were hit. Kei refrained from smiling as she saw a pale patch of skin from where the kikaichu had left. Bingo.

Her eyes caught the slight reflection from behind Shino. The kikaichu neared her, but she was too busy to really notice. She closed her eyes and felt the little twinge of chakra that told her that the jutsu was ready. She pressed her hands out and the water senbon shot at Shino. One of the best things about her jutsu was the fact that it didn't have to originate from her hands. She just had to solidify the water and direct it.

The senbon behind Shino's head angled upwards before slipping down his overcoat. The water curved mid-flight before striking Shino in the neck. Shino's hand instinctively shot up towards the impact area, but it was too late. His glasses slid forward before falling off his face. Shino's grey eyes slowly shut as he fell forward onto the ground.

"Aburame Shino is unable to continue the match! Shimizu Kei wins!" Hayate called out. Kei gave a sigh of relief before slumping back against the wall.

-TSUME-

"It looks like I will be battling against you, Nara-san." Hinata clasped her hands tightly together before reaching out to the rail in front of her. She pulled herself over the metal handlebar before dropping down to the dirt. The clumps of rubble from the last contestant had already been cleared from the arena. There was a slight unevenness in the wall, but it was hardly noticeable. All eyes were set on the genin in the arena.

Shikamaru rubbed his hand against his face. "This is so troublesome," he grumbled lowly. "Oi!" Shikamaru turned to where Hayate was standing and shouted, "I withdraw." Murmurs of surprised ran around the arena as Shikamaru merely yawned.

"Why are you withdrawing?" Hayate spluttered in confusion. He dabbed his forehead with a handkerchief. Withdrawals were not particularly common in the games. Most people were forcibly removed or discharged for disorderly conduct. After making it all the way through the forest, almost no one disengaged. They had already invested too much in the games.

"There are 329 outcomes to this fight. All of them take under five minutes for a victory," Shikamaru said simply. "Neither of us are stamina fighters, so we would try to end the battle quickly. Hyuuga-san specialized in close range combat while I specialize in medium range. This might lead to better outcomes for me, but that is not the case in an arena like this." Shikamaru waved a laze hand towards the near empty arena.

"A real battlefield would contain obstructions such as a wayward tree or even ankle-high grass. It would have things I could pull to my advantage, but the only thing I could use here would be a bit of dirt or chalk. Hyuuga-san would be given the natural advantage in this field because of her fighting preference. It gives deference to those that charge head on into battle since there is nowhere to hide." Shikamaru leaned forward on the railing and looked down towards Hinata. He made eye contact with her before looking back up to Hayate.

"I'm not stupid enough to enter a battle I am going to lose. Out of the 329 outcomes I have foreseen, only 78 result in my victory. This means Hyuuga-san has a 76% chance of winning. It makes no sense for me to attempt this battle if there is such a high risk. This is why I am withdrawing." Shikamaru pushed off the railing and put his hands behind his head.

"So Hyuuga-san can withdraw from the court. It's her win. Consider it a BYE round." Shikamaru shrugged and turned away, only to be stopped as Hinata yelled at him.

"How can you give up so easily? Would you really dishonor your clan by giving in like that?" Hinata called out in frustration. She stamped her foot on the ground and stared at Shikamaru's retreating back.

"_My clan_ cares for my wellbeing. They wouldn't want to see me end up in the hospital." Shikamaru cast a meaningful glance over his shoulder before walking to one of the benches along the wall. He sat down and crossed one leg over the other. "You may continue the rounds."

Hayate blinked slowly before stuttering, "Ah, yes. This match goes to Hyuuga-san. Hyuuga-san, if you will exit the arena, we will continue with the matches."

Hinata hung her head slightly before giving a quick bob of her head. She shunshined to the upper level and walked back over to her teammates. The machine on the wall flashed orange as the names appeared on the screen. The names cycled across the screen before a loud bing was heard. Everyone looked towards the screen to see who the next contestants were.

"Sabaku Temari versus Rock Lee? This will be interesting," Kei commented, flipping out her notebook. When she looked up again, the two contestants were already in the arena. Temari brushed her hair back over her shoulder and put her hand on her hip

"This will be over quickly, boy. Let's get this started." Temari smirked and looked up towards Hayate, "Call it!" She demanded.

"A-ah, yes." Hayate coughed into his fist before raising his hand up. "The match will begin in three, two, one... Go!" His hand dropped down and Lee shot towards Temari. Temari pulled out her fan and opened it a third of the way.

"I'm sorry!" Lee yelled as he rushed towards her in a blur. From the stands, the watchers already knew the results of the match. It was a match that was impossible for one of the contestants to win, and it was evident that it would play out as most of them envisioned it. Temari pulled the fan back to send a gush of wind towards Lee, but it took too much time. The fan barely made it behind her back before Lee had arrived in front of her.

He straightened his hand out before slamming it into Temari's left wrist. Her grip on the fan weakened, and Lee took the chance to elbow the weapon out of her grasp. Within moments, he had spun around to kick Temari in the stomach, sending her flying into the wall. Kankuro's boos were heard as Lee zipped over to where Temari was regaining herself on the ground.

Temari dealt with crippling blows and stamina fights. Quick hand to hand combat was not something she could pull off. She flipped a few kunai out, hoping that he would impale himself on one of them, but she underestimated his control. His hand weaved out of the way of the kunai, striking her in the arm. She let out a cry as her arm dislocated, but her cry turned to gagging as Lee held her by the neck.

"I apologize, but please surrender this match!" Lee yelled in her face. Temari lifted up her only usable arm to try and pry away his grip, but fount it futile. She gave a rasping cough before turning away. She looked up at Hayate and gave a feeble nod.

"Sabuku Temari has conceded the match. The winner is Rock Lee!" Hayate called out before giving in to a hacking cough.

-TSUME-

"So, are you going to tell me how your rounds went? I was only able to watch a few of them since my services were required elsewhere." Inoichi lifted a cup of steaming green tea to his lips. He put it back down on the table and leaned on one arm.

"Naruto-san and sound genin named Zaku Abumi faced off. Zaku-san audaciously flaunted his abilities before an unknown enemy. It was a stupid thing to do. It could have gotten him killed if it was anyone else," Kei deadpanned, rapping her fingers on the table. "He was still lucky that Naruto-san only knocked him unconscious. His ability was interesting, but simple. The airtubes in his arms are too susceptible to attacks. Not only can they be clogged, but they fire in one direction, and in one direction only. Naruto-san moved faster, and that was all there was to it. Zaku-san didn't move his arms fast enough to block."

Inoichi chuckled weakly. Kei made it sound so simple, but judging by the look on Naruto's face, he thought it was much more impressive. "And what about the other rounds?"

"Sakura-san and Hanagaki-san went next." Shikamaru commented. Inoichi laced his fingers together, signaling his attention. After hearing about what had happened with Team 7 in the forest, he had been trying to keep a close eye on the genin. "Sakura-san seemed off." Shikamaru frowned a bit. "The round lasted less than two minutes. Hanagaki-san put up a genjutsu which Sakura-san dispelled. Sakura-san stabbed him in the chest and it was over."

"Sakura-san left the arena immediately after that. It was kind of weird," Naruto commented. "She didn't even bother to see if he was okay! And, not that it's a bad thing, she seemed strangely confident. She didn't hesitate at all. She wasn't at all like that when we entered the exams." Naruto leaned his head on the table and looked over towards Inoichi. The man was meditatively swirling the tea inside of his cup.

"I see," Inoichi finally said. "I will have to talk to Hatake-san about that. It looks like he'll be quite busy after the exams are over." He trailed off in thought. Kakashi had never been the best with genin. He had matured differently than most genin his age, and was unable to relate to them for the most part. Inoichi doubted that the man had it in him to have a heart-to-heart with anyone, much less his students. Sakura and Sasuke would need counseling after everything that had happened in the forest. If Kakashi couldn't do it, Inoichi would have to intervene.

Inoichi bit the inside of his lip before turning back to his genin pleasantly, "Was there anything else of interest?" He would have to think about what to do later. Hopefully, something would strike him in the meantime. He couldn't let the Hokage force them into the T&I's care even if he trusted its members. The very fact that they were visiting T&I members would be far too damaging to both genin.

"Akimichi-san faced the second Sabaku-san for one of the latest battles. Sabaku-san was outmatched from the start. There was no way his puppets could be an Akimichi especially since Akimichi-san has already learned some of his clan's jutsu. Sabaku-san managed to catch Akimichi-san inside of one of his puppets, but it still ended in his loss. That leaves the youngest Sabaku as the only one going on to the next rounds," Kei said quietly. Her voice was devoid of emotion, and her attention wandered to toying with some of the rice on her plate.

"That's good that at least one of the Suna delegates made it into the later rounds." Inoichi said with a calm smile. It would be good to have inconspicuous backup in the finals. Most Kages left after their teams had all lost. The jonin could report on any important genin, but there was no need for a Kage to be present for that. It would be too suspicious if all of Suna was watching the finals even though they had no competitors.

"You'd be glad to see how well Ino-san did," Shikamaru drawled. "But..." He cast a glance over at Inoichi, "You never taught her the clan jutsu, did you?" Inoichi choked and hurriedly drank some more of his tea. His genin chuckled at his awkwardness and shook their heads.

"I've been awfully busy ever since I took on a team of my own, you know. I haven't had the time to tutor Ino as well," Inoichi explained. He looked at the table despondently, "It's sad that I have to ask you about how she did. I'm sure that I will see her at dinner tonight, but I rarely see her during the days now. Even when we talk at dinner, she seems more distant than she used to be." Inoichi sighed and looked back over at Shikamaru, "Well?"

"Ino-san won. It was easy enough to tell by my manner of speech, wasn't it?" Shikamaru smirked and leaned on his fist. "It was obvious that she was lacking any clan jutsu, but luckily, her opponent wasn't very talented either. Kimura-san isn't a very serious ninja. He gave in after only a few hits. Ino-san on the other hand was... very talent with a kunai. Kurenai-sensei must be a very good teacher."

Inoichi nodded. "Kurenai-san is a newer sensei, but she is very promising. She has shown signs of strain recently, but I have no doubt she'll pull through. She has been looking better since I last saw her in any case. I'm sure that the fact that her students lasted to this point has made her proud."

"Ah!" Naruto perked up, making the rest of the table jump. "That was right! There was something I had to tell you all. It's about Tenten-san."

**Author's Note: I apologize for being late! I've been all over the place this past week, and I highly doubt that things will clear up any time soon. Not only that, but I seem to have gotten myself sick. I made most of this chapter tonight, so it isn't even betaed. Oops. Sorry if there are some weird spellings in here! I'm known to do that when I'm not fully functional. **

**I may be late again next week. It really just depends on how I'm feeling next week. I'm behind on just about everything from schoolwork to workwork to fanfiction writing. I apologize for the shortness and the delays that may occur in the future! **


	29. Age Old Struggle

The world is in a constant conspiracy against the brave. It's the age-old struggle: the roar of the crowd on the one side, and the voice of your conscience on the other.  
**-Douglas MacArthur**

Chapter 28: Age Old Struggle

"Hmm? So what is it?" Shikamaru asked, looking over at Naruto.

"Geez, no need to hurry me now!" Naruto chirped. "It happened just a bit ago before I came here to rendezvous with you all." Naruto twirled a chopstick in his hands as he thought. "The exam semi-finals had just ended, so I was walking over to the cafeteria. I ended up going the scenic route since there were too many teams going through the main hall. I happened on Tenten-san and Gai-sensei on my way. Though admittedly, they don't know that I was there." Naruto gave a sheepish chuckle.

"I saw that the two of them looked like they were having a serious conversation, so I peeked around the corner to listen a bit. What I heard was rather interesting actually." Naruto stopped toying around with his chopstick and set it on the table. "This is how it went..."

"_Something isn't right, Gai-sensei. There was no reason for them to target Neji-kun in particular. It couldn't have been a vendetta against the Hyuuga clan. They would have attacked Hinata-chan instead. Since no one else seems to care about the investigation, I took matters into my own hands." Tenten leaned against the wall and crossed her arms. Her eyes darted around the hallways, and Naruto sank back against the wall. After she was sure that no one was listening, Tenten continued._

"_I broke into the hospital while most of the doctors were on duty at the chuunin exams. Since not many people were running around, I was able to get inside the file rooms with relative ease." She tilted her head over to the side. Naruto noticed the skin on her arm turning white as Tenten clamped down. "They lied about Neji-kun's cause of death. They said it was a complication that had developed during his treatment, but that wasn't the truth." Tenten looked up at Gai and said coldly, "He died because he was poisoned. They were unable to respond quickly enough since the poison took hold within minutes. Neji-kun didn't last thirty minutes."_

_Gai started in surprise. "Why didn't they tell us of this? I was not there immediately after Neji-kun passed, but they reported to me that complications were the cause of his death. Why was the cover up necessary?" Gai bit his thumb in thought._

"_I suspect that the doctors were paid to do it. Isn't that how most cover ups are done?" Tenten gave a choked laugh and shook her head. "There are only a few people who would take it to be in their best interests for this not to be heard." She quieted as the implication sank in. Gai straightened in his spot beside her, and a frown set upon his face._

"_Be careful what you say, Tenten-chan. You have to know what you are dealing with," Gai said cautiously. His bushy brows were furrowed together, and his face was scrunched up in thought. Naruto could tell that Gai didn't quite believe his own words. Naruto poked his head out ever so slightly as to get a better view of the two._

_Tenten had left her place and had walked directly in front of Gai, her back facing Naruto. "I know exactly who I'm dealing with. It's Hyuuga Hiashi, isn't it?" She spoke defiantly, staring directly into Gai's face. Naruto could tell by the sound of her voice that she was already resigned to doing whatever it would take to avenge Neji. Even if she had to fight against the Hyuuga Clan Head, she would do it._

"_It is true that I saw the two of them fighting before Neji-kun was attacked..." Gai said hesitantly. "I would be careful with making such a bold accusation though. Even if it is true, it will be hard to prove anything. Hiashi-san has a lot of clout with the Civilian Council and in the ninja community. Not many will believe that he had his own nephew killed. I wouldn't doubt that Hiashi-san would have already covered his tracks if he did something like that. You wouldn't find anyone to testify against him."_

"_Then I'll just have to show enough evidence to make it perfectly clear that he is guilty," Tenten replied shortly. She put a hand on her hip and asked, "Will you do me a favor, Gai-sensei?"_

"_It depends on the favor," Gai replied._

"_I need a way to keep track of what Hyuuga-san is doing." Naruto watched as Tenten dug a hand into one of her pockets. She pulled out a small gray circle and held it out in her palm. "Put this in his office for me."_

"_Tenten!" Gai exclaimed, "You do know that doing this could cause us both to be arrested? It's one thing to suspect someone, but planting a bug inside their office is something else entirely."_

"_I know that," Tenten snapped back. "It's the only way to find out what he's thinking. He'll be too guarded outside of his home, so I need to listen to him when he feels safe. Please, Gai-sensei. Do this for me." Tenten's voice dropped, and her head turned over to the side._

_Gai looked nervously up and down the hallways; Naruto slipped farther back around the corner so he wouldn't be seen. "I got it." A clicking sound was heard, and Naruto knew that Gai had taken the bug from Tenten. "I'll try to get it in for you soon. Don't do anything that could be traced back to you. These are high stakes you are playing."_

_Naruto heard a soft thumping, and peaked around the corner to see Tenten patting Gai on the shoulder. "Thank you, Gai-sensei."_

-TSUME-

"That was what happened." Naruto propped his head up on his fist. "So, what do you think?"

Kei twirled her pen between her fingers. "They do seem like our natural allies, don't they?" She asked innocently. At Naruto's confused face, she gave a sigh and explained. "You heard from the late Hyuuga-san, didn't you? That Hyuuga Hiashi is a part of the rebellion?" Naruto bobbed his head up and down, looking for a further explanation. "So, if they are trying to learn more about why Hyuuga-san was killed and to find a way to avenge him, then we should work together. After all, we're basically trying to accomplish the same thing. They want to avenge Hyuuga-san, and we want to put a stop to the rebellion. Either way, it ends with Hiashi-san being brought to the Hokage for justice."

"You make a good point, Kei-chan, but there are also downsides to that," Inoichi cut in. "The more people know about the rebellion, the more likely it is that the rebels will find out that we know. If we tell Tenten-san and Gai-san, then we'll have to take on that risk. If either of them are caught in their attempts to catch Neji-kun's murder and they happen to talk about, or even reference, the rebellion, it could cause us a lot of trouble."

"But," Shikamaru interjected, "We need to find allies. So far, we only have Suna and ourselves. If pressured to make a split-second choice between our side and theirs, I'm not sure how many would side with us. No side wants to be seen helping the loser, so if we look unprepared, we'll lose people. Having more people on our side will aid our appearance of control." Shikamaru tapped his fingertips together. "Plus, Gai-sensei and Tenten-san both know the gravity of the situation. I am sure that they would know how to keep a secret. It's not as if they aren't keeping any now."

"It wouldn't look suspicious if I talked to Tenten-san," Kei added. "My parents do business with Tenten's father. Tenten-san makes plenty of deliveries, and I do not doubt that she'll continue making them." Her eyes glanced over towards Inoichi, who gave a loud sigh.

"You three... Whether I condone it or not, you'll try it, won't you?" At Naruto's guilty face, Inoichi rubbed his face with his palm. "All right, all right. You have to keep me involved with everything that goes on though, all right? We can't risk anything happening to Tenten-san because of a slip up. Understood?"

"Yes, sir!" Naruto beamed. He gave a smile. This time, he would definitely be careful. It was because he was too ambitious that Neji had gotten hurt last time. He silently swore that Tenten would not get hurt if he could help it. "Kei-chan, will you talk to Tenten-san later? Or do you want the rest of us to be there as well?"

"I can handle it," Kei replied, opening up her notebook. She scribbled a quick note in it before slamming it shut in Naruto's face. "Stop trying to read what I write."

"Oh come on! Telling me not to read it makes me want to read it more!" Naruto complained, resting his head on the table. He closed one eye and tried to see if he could see into the notebook, but to no avail. The blonde gave a dejected sigh before glancing over to Inoichi. "So, what should we do now?"

Inoichi looked over at the clock on the wall. "The pairings for the finals should be going up about now. How about we go out to the main room to find out your opponents?" Naruto perked up at this while Kei groaned. They slipped out of the booth before trickling out of the room. Naruto was in the lead as he navigated quickly down the halls. Despite only being in the building for a day, he found it was quite easy to make his way around. Kei and Shikamaru, on the other hand, didn't find it easy at all. Naruto had already rescued the two of them from getting lost.

Naruto sauntered out into the large rotunda before abruptly stopping. Shikamaru looked at him strangely before looking up at the ceiling. That was when Shikamaru remembered. This had been where Neji had been found only a few days ago. Shikamaru put his hand on Naruto's shoulder, startling the blonde from his stupor. "Ah, right. Now let's see where those brackets are, ha..." Naruto gave a weak smile before hustling to the other side of the room.

A crowd of genin was standing around a large bulletin board. As Naruto neared, he saw a few white pages tacked against the cork board. Naruto shoved his way through the crowd to get closer to the pages. When he was finally close enough, he searched the paper for his name before finding it at the top. "Ah! Uzumaki-san, it looks like you will be my first opponent!" Naruto looked over his shoulder to see Lee smiling at him. "I wish you all the best, but I am afraid that you will lose."

Naruto chuckled and held out his hand to Lee. "We'll see about that in the arena, Lee-san." Lee shook his hand vigorously. After a few moments, Lee slowed down and stared at their two hands. Naruto winced as Lee's hand constricted around his own.

"I cannot let you win, Uzumaki-san." Lee stared at Naruto seriously. "I'll definitely win." Lee let go of Naruto's hand and stepped away. He bounced a little bit and gave a cheerful smile. "I'll see you when the next rounds begin!" Lee turned and ran away, slicing through the ground of excited genin. As Naruto watched Lee go, he bit the tip of his thumb. Lee was one of the last people he wanted to fight in the exams, but it appeared this was fated to happen.

A hand tugged on his sleeve, and Naruto let himself be dragged out of the crowd. Kei pulled him out to the edge of the crowd before turning on him. "Now that there is a break, you and I will need to have a little chat." She flashed him a chilling smile. "Meet me at our old training grounds in two hours. Don't be late." She turned and began to walk away.

"Or else what?" Naruto called at her.

Kei gave a low laugh before saying sweetly, "Do you really need to ask that? Knowledge is power, Naruto-san." She tapped her notebook against her head before walking away, her maroon hair swishing behind her.

-TSUME-

"Feel free to go in, Yamanaka-san. Just remember not to take any books out with you," the librarian said as Inoichi passed by. The blonde gave a nod to acknowledge her before wandering towards the back of the library. The back of the library contained A-Rank and S-Rank jutsu that had never been forbidden. It was conceivable that Naruto had somehow managed to get a hold of one of these books to learn jutsu from it. Inoichi doubted it, but he was running out of ideas about how Naruto could have used the jutsu.

Shirakumo had come back to him while he was working in his office.

"_Ah, Yamanaka-san. There you are." Inoichi looked over his shoulder to see Shirakumo standing beside him. The man loomed over him, and Inoichi instinctively turned the paper he was working on so it could not be read._

"_Hello Hayama-san. What are you doing here?" Inoichi asked politely, rolling his chair to look at Shirakumo. There was something Inoichi didn't quite like about Shirakumo's sudden arrival. There was no reason for the jounin to be in the chuunin sensei hall. "I assume you were looking for me?"_

_Shirakumo gave a tiny hint of a smile before nodding, "Ah, I was. I wanted to talk to you about that boy of yours, Uzumaki-san." Inoichi's eyes flashed and his attention immediately snapped back to the man in front of him._

"_What is it that you have learned?" Inoichi inquired._

"_Uzumaki-san doesn't have the capacity to create his own jutsu," Shirakumo said shortly. "He knows little to nothing about chakra power levels and the intricacies of weaving chakra flows together to make jutsu. A jutsu like the one you described to me is out of his capacity. I don't know where he learned it, but it wasn't something he made up on his own."_

Inoichi ran his hands over the wind jutsu volumes as he thought. If he didn't find his answer here, he would have to turn to the Hokage. It wasn't something he liked to resort to, but he couldn't have Naruto using unknown jutsu like he did earlier. If it was a jutsu passed down from the Kyuubi, then there would be limitless possibilities to what other jutsu Naruto could have learned.

Inoichi's finger stopped on the T section, and he slipped the book out of the shelf. The book felt heavy in his hands as he brought it over to the table in the corner. The volume thumped as it was dropped on the table. Inoichi opened the book and went back to Tsu-. His eyes trailed down the page before slowly closing. "How troublesome."

-TSUME-

"Naruto-san," Naruto's head whipped around as he tried to find the source of the voice. "Up here!" The irritated voice called. Naruto looked up the tree to see Kei sitting cross-legged atop the bows. The girl gave a sigh before running a hand through her hair. "Now that we have a break for the next month, I need to talk to you." She twirled her pen between her fingers. Naruto noticed she had been doing that more often recently. It normally happened when she was agitated. Naruto swallowed worriedly. What had he done now?

"What about, Kei-chan?" Naruto scratched the back of his head nervously. An angry Kei was the last thing he wanted. He couldn't recall doing anything to tick her off, but then again, he rarely did remember those sorts of things.

"Don't tell me you have forgotten already?" Kei tossed the pen up and caught it between her fingers. She tilted it to the side before flinging it at his head like a senbon. Naruto squeaked and ducked out of the way as the pen embedded in the ground behind him. "I don't know how all the brawn was gifted to those that don't have the brains to use it properly."

Naruto decided it was not a good time to comment on how he wasn't that stupid. Obviously, she'd only get angrier. "Er... Could you remind me, Kei-chan?"

"Inoichi-sensei has been suspicious and rightfully so. Mikoto-san told me that while she was serving drinks, she overheard Inoichi-sensei and Hayama-sensei talking about you and your jutsu. Why couldn't you have sacrificed your bloody pride and lost the match against Sabaku-san?" Kei buried her head in her hands and groaned. The gears turned inside of Naruto's head before the light finally switched on.

"Ah! You mean the Tsuin no Tats-" Naruto dropped to the ground again as this time, Kei threw her notebook at him.

"Idiot! Don't say the name! How did you even remember it anyways? I only recall teaching you the other one," Kei ran a hand through her hair and shook her head. "Or do I not even want to know?"

Naruto flinched before saying, "Ahh, you probably don't want to know." Kei pinched the bridge of her nose.

"We need to figure out a way to conceal the fact that you know the jutsu. Do you know anything about jutsu creation?" Naruto opened his mouth to answer when he saw a dash of blonde hair in the distance. He grabbed the notebook and pen on the ground and tossed them up to Kei. When she spluttered in surprise, he raised a finger to his mouth to shush her.

Inoichi's figure appeared as he made his way over towards the training field. As he neared, a smile crossed his face. "Ah, hello Naruto-kun. What are you doing out here?" Naruto hustled away from the tree, trying to distract Inoichi's attention.

"I was thinking about getting some secret practice! The finals are only in a month, you know, and I need to be prepared!" Naruto smiled easily, but was secretly sweating in the back of his mind. His conversation with Kei kept on appearing in his head. Inoichi was already suspicious about the forbidden jutsu! He didn't have a clue about how to create a jutsu, so he couldn't even fib about it yet!

"Ah, that's a good idea." Inoichi said with a nod. "So Naruto-kun," Inoichi uncrossed his arms and walked over towards the blonde boy. Naruto instinctively stepped back as he sensed a small wave of killer intent from his sensei. "When did you want to tell me about jutsu of yours?"

**Author's Note: Woohoo! I got the chapter sort of on time! (Sort of on time means late, but only a bit late) I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! ^^ I want to give special thanks to Dante Nastaran for reminding me about something important in the story. I'll try to work hard to make that I don't forget anything in the future!**

**Also, thanks pokepikachu1 for betaing me! :D**


	30. Choosing Evil

Constantly choosing the lesser of two evils is still choosing evil.  
**-Jerry Garcia**

Chapter 29: Choosing Evil

Kei froze. This couldn't be happening right now. She still had to talk to Naruto about jutsu-crafting! Her fingers clutched at the notebook tightly as she looked down from the tree. The girl had some confidence in her teammate's ability to fib, but she doubted that anything would get past the former head of the Torture and Interrogation Unit. She barely prevented herself from groaning in annoyance. There was no way to pretend this wasn't happening, so she could only hope that Naruto wouldn't screw up.

The aforementioned boy shuffled from one foot to the other under Inoichi's pointed stare. The back of his neck felt warm, and he knew that he was already looking suspicious. He took in a quick breath before casually saying, "What jutsu are you talking about, Inoichi-sensei? Are you perhaps referring to how I amped up chakra circulation in my right arm in the fight against the sound ninja? There was nothing really special about that, Inoichi-sensei!" Naruto put his hands behind his head and tried to look calm.

"Naruto-kun," the sheer sugary sweetness was enough to make Naruto start. He was so dead. "You know what I am talking about. Do not try to hide it from me, Naruto-kun. It is the Tsuin Tatsumaki that I am talking about." Inoichi's smile didn't quite reach his eyes. "You know. The one you used against Sabaku-san? I've never seen that before, and it quite interests me. I've already talked to Hayama-san. He hasn't taught you about jutsu construction yet, and you haven't even shown an affinity for advanced chakra manipulation. So then I wondered if you could have read it in the jounin library by accident. Unfortunately for you, Naruto-kun," Inoichi's stare turned cold. "That jutsu isn't in the jounin library which houses all jutsu available for ninja of_all ranks_. So I wonder how you found about it. Could you tell me, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto blanched. The palms of his hands began to sweat in his hair, and he bit his lips tightly. Inoichi's eyes narrowed at Naruto's suspicious behavior. Naruto opened his mouth to say something, but the Kyuubi interjected.** Don't tell him about me, Naruto-brat. There are far worse consequences to them knowing that I can communicate to you.**But then, what was he supposed to tell Inoichi? He had to come up with something! He looked downright ridiculous with his mouth hanging open like that, and Inoichi was already glaring at him!

**Say you looked at a scroll of some sort in the Hokage's office.**Naruto mentally squirmed at the thought.**DO IT!**Naruto's ears rang violently as he complied, "I've gone to Hokage-sama's office quite a lot. When I was a kid, Hokage-sama had a scroll out on his desk that had some jutsu on it. He was talking to someone, so I was just waiting there, and I looked at it. I didn't have very good chakra control back then, so I didn't pull the jutsu off, but I guess I still remember the hand signs."

Inoichi quirked an eyebrow and sighed, "Naruto-kun, you do not really expect me to believe that, do you?" Naruto swallowed. "If you are really telling me the truth, then allow me to look inside of your mind." Naruto nearly fell over. He had forgotten that Inoichi was, well, a Yamanaka. It was incredibly easy for Inoichi to walk through mindscapes and probe through the memories of his target. What was he supposed to do now?

**Let him in.**Naruto sent black thoughts towards the Kyuubi. How was letting him in a good idea?**I'll deal with it. You'll only incriminate yourself if you don't allow him in. SO LET HIM IN, BRAT!**Naruto hid his flinch with a hurried nod. "Good," Inoichi said. He walked up to Naruto. "Sit down." Naruto did so, and Inoichi knelt down in front of Naruto. He placed his hands carefully on Naruto's forehead and closed his eyes. Naruto felt a warm tingling at the front of his skull before falling into a deep slumber.

-TSUME-

When Inoichi opened his eyes he was in the middle of a long hallway. The hallway stretched before and behind him. Inoichi mentally made a note about the exit and began walking down the halls. The baby blue color seemed so happy and childlike. Inoichi smiled a bit. It was so like Naruto to have a young and juvenile mind. A few steps later the hallway vanished away, revealing a large open space.

Inoichi hummed in thought. Why had the mindscape changed so suddenly? Could Naruto have manipulated it so that it changed? Inoichi shook his head. That couldn't be. Naruto didn't have the ability to change his mindscape like that. His steps resounded around the emptiness as he trudged through the darkness. Inoichi's foot met a wall, and he tripped forward, slamming against the wall.

"Che..." Inoichi rubbed the side of his head as he stumbled up from the ground. He knocked against the air and was surprised when he knuckles made contact with a wall. He felt his hands up and down the barrier and quickly realized there wasn't a door. "Huh. What's this doing here?" Naruto's mindscape was too queer for his tastes.

He moved his hand along the wall and walked beside it for a distance. The wall showed no signs of letting up. Inoichi was about to try and communicate with Naruto when his hand found a divot in the wall. His fingers latched onto the opening, and he dragged the door open. A soft glow emanated from the room and Inoichi entered.

Torches were fastened to the walls by steel claws, and the ceiling dripped an unknown liquid. All Inoichi could hear was the plink-plonk of the liquid as it dripped into the puddles on the floor. A soft growl cut through the sound of water, and Inoichi turned to look. Rusty iron bars cut up to the ceiling. A large slab stood in the middle of the bars with a black keyhole in the center. The keyhole loomed above Inoichi, dwarfing him in size. Behind the bars was a queer form. Orange bubbles grew and popped only to be replaced by others. The broken bubbles left the liquid which dropped onto the ground.

It wasn't the orange that frightened him though. It was the face on the creature. A wide Cheshire grin looked down at him. Eerie black eyes taunted him. A shiver ran down Inoichi's back. He didn't know why the thing frightened him, but it did. His mind protested at his sudden freeze, and he shook himself. He couldn't think about the creature's appearance. He had to think about what it was doing here. Why was this thing in Naruto's mindscape where it didn't belong?

The large bubbling figure turned dark black. Inoichi took a step back as the Kyuubi stretched and distorted before constricting together. A blast of chakra swept Inoichi back into the mottled purple and black wall. He crumbled down to the ground before warily opening his eyes. Inoichi let out a soft gasp at the sight before him. He looked the same as he had all those years ago. His light blonde hair rested against the sides of his face, and his pale blue eyes stared back at Inoichi.

"Namikaze-sama?" Inoichi whispered slowly. Minato stared back him kindly before a sinister grin crossed his face. His smile widened and his eyes grew dark. Inoichi grimaced in revulsion as the Kyuubi stepped between the rusty black bars and walked towards him.

"Namikaze-sama," Kurama sneered, "You sound like a dog calling for his master. Such hope and longing in your words, it makes me ill just hearing it." Inoichi flinched. He clutched the side of his head. He knew that this wasn't Minato, but it was Minato's face and voice. No, it wasn't quite Minato's voice. Minato had never sounded so cruel before. Inoichi grunted, forcing himself up from the ground.

"Why are you doing this?" Inoichi demanded. "My reason for being here does not involve you unless you set up the wall in Naruto-kun's mind. If you did, let it fade and I will be on my way." Inoichi bit his lip tightly and hoped that the Kyuubi would let him go. Inoichi wasn't stupid enough to think that he could escape the Kyuubi on his own. They were on two different levels, and it would be sheer idiocy to think that Inoichi could just walk away of his own free will. If the Kyuubi wanted him to stay, he would have to stay.

"Why am I doing this?" The Kyuubi scoffed. Minato's face scrunched up in disgust as he stood in front of Inoichi. "Naruto is my property. He is as much my property as your home is yours. And like any good owner," Kurama stuck his face in front of Inoichi's and growled, "I don't like it when little_wretches and termites_dig around within the boards."

"Naruto-kun is not your property," Inoichi gritted out. He prevented himself from pushing away Minato's looming face, knowing that the recoil that would be incurred would be too much for him to handle. He wouldn't even be able to escape the mental attack. Inoichi had already tried to escape the mindscape, but he had found that he was trapped like a mouse. "You cannot hurt me in Naruto-kun's mindscape. You can manipulate your own form, but you can't change the mindscape of another entity."

The Kyuubi stepped back a few feet and propped his head back on his hands. "Ehh? And what makes you think that the brat and I are separate entities?" At Inoichi's horrified face, the Kyuubi laughed cruelly. "That's right! In the sealing, our souls are sown together! That is why whenever a bijuu is expelled, the container dies, but I still retain the scraps of the old container's soul. I'm what is left of Uzumaki Mito and Uzumaki Kushina! And now, I will be Uzumaki Naruto when he dies! We are one,_Yamanaka-kun_."

Inoichi swallowed and cast furtive glances around the room. If he couldn't break the connection here, he would have to try to make a break for it. Perhaps the Kyuubi's reach would be weaker in other parts of the brain that were more Naruto-dominant. The Kyuubi looked like it was becoming more violent. Inoichi couldn't risk staying in the same place for much longer. "What is it, Yamanaka-kun?" Kurama purred, "You wouldn't be happening to be thinking about leaving me, would you?"

The wall that Inoichi was pressed up against softened suddenly, causing Inoichi to sink a few inches back into the wall. Inoichi tried to pull his arms out, but found that he was stuck. "Come on..." Inoichi mumbled, yanking on each of his arms to no avail.

Kurama sighed and walked up closer to Inoichi. He placed a hand under Inoichi's chin and angled it so Inoichi stared him in the eyes. The blue eyes of Minato began to peel away, revealing the red pits of the Kyuubi. Minato's softer voice gave way to the resonating sound of the Kyuubi as he spoke, "Never try anything like this again, worm. You are nothing compared to me. If you ever enter this mindscape ever again, know that I will be here, and that I will not be so lenient next time." The Kyuubi's hand tightened around Inoichi's face before, finally, Inoichi's body broke, sending his mind back to the surface.

The Kyuubi watched as the blue orbs of chakra floated up and out of the mindscape. "Ahh, the brat had better be happy for what I've done." Kurama walked back behind the rusty bars before Minato's skin faded away once more.

-TSUME-

Blue eyes shot open, and Inoichi jolted back from Naruto. He clutched his hand close to his chest and stared at his pupil worriedly. He had entered Naruto's mind to sate his fears about the jutsu, but now his fears had only worsened. If what the Kyuubi said was true, which it seemed like it was true, then could the Kyuubi take over Naruto's entire mindscape? Obviously, the natural restraints around the Kyuubi did not work if he was able to saunter out of the cell.

If the Kyuubi was able to control Naruto, then it would be disastrous. Inoichi closed his eyes. The Hokage had told him about an old friend that was supposed to arrive in Konoha in the next few days. The timing could not be better. Inoichi wanted to trust that nothing could happen, but he didn't know how strong of a hold Naruto had over the Kyuubi. Was the seal weakening, causing the bars in the mindscape to become farther apart? Inoichi had no way of telling and it unnerved him. He suddenly wished that they taught fuuinjutsu at the academy, but alas, they did not.

Naruto yawned loudly and rubbed his hands against his eyes as if he had just woken up from a long sleep. He peered at Inoichi and squinted a bit. "What did you see in there?" Inoichi looked up and Naruto added, "I don't know what's going on when you're in my head. I just feel kinda sleepy when I wake up. A bit dizzy too actually." Naruto cradled the side of his head before shaking it vigorously.

Inoichi stood up from the ground and glanced away from Naruto. "I saw what I wanted to see. You don't need to worry about the details now." Naruto blinked a few times before humming and giving a short nod. Inoichi couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was coming. The rebellion would be nothing compared to the Kyuubi's potential revival through Naruto.

From the tree nearby, Kei frowned. Inoichi's reaction was less than positive. She doubted that Inoichi was telling the whole truth. His face was contorted, and one of his hands was gripped into a fist. There was no way that Inoichi saw what he expected to see. However, she also knew that he didn't see that they stole the forbidden scroll. If he did see that, then he would be yelling at Naruto right now. But he wasn't, so what did he see instead?

She tilted her head over to the side for a moment before it clicked. If he hadn't seen Naruto's memories, then something or someone had to have intervened. There was only one thing that could intervene in Naruto's mind, the Kyuubi. Kei bit the end of her thumb worriedly. Inoichi had woken with a jolt, unlike how most Yamanaka exit from minds. That meant that Inoichi probably did not leave of his own volition. If the Kyuubi was strong enough to expel a Yamanaka, then what else could it do?

Controlling the mind was the beginning to controlling the rest of the person. Could the Kyuubi already control Naruto's entire body if he wanted to? The image of Aoi on the ground flashed into her mind. The Kyuubi already had taken control of Naruto once. There was no reason to think that it wouldn't take over again. Her nails dug into tree bark. She lowered her head and whispered to herself, "I won't let anything like that ever happen again. I'll figure out something. I promise you, Naruto-san. The Kyuubi will never be able to control you again."

* * *

**Author's Note: Everyone, thank you so much for reading yet another chapter of Team Tsume! ^^ I'm trying to plan out the rest of the chapters now, so in the next few weeks I should be able to tell you when the story will be concluding! I was planning on writing a sequel once I finished this story, so feel free to message me with anything you would like to appear in the sequel!**

**Once again, thanks to Pokepikachu1 for betaing me! ^^**


	31. Sacredness in Tears

There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition, and of unspeakable love.  
**-Washington Irving**

Chapter 30: Sacredness in Tears

Inochi rapped his fingers on the door before stepping away. The thought of the Kyuubi manipulating Naruto troubled him. There was no easy way to confirm when Naruto was speaking or when the Kyuubi was speaking. Was the one he had grown to know and love really Naruto? Inoichi shook his head. Of course it was Naruto. The Kyuubi would never be as kind as Naruto. "Come in!" The Hokage's voice called through the doorway, and Inoichi twisted the doorknob. He walked into the room and up to the Hokage's desk.

Hiruzen's eyes were half-closed and his face hung with tiredness. A pile of paperwork sat on the desk beside him, and Inoichi worked to prevent himself from taking a quick glance at the work. "What is it that you need, Yamanaka-san?" Hiruzen pulled open a drawer on his desk and rummaged through it before giving a lamenting sigh. That pipe of his was nowhere to be found.

"It's about Naruto-kun. A... complication has come up." Hiruzen's dark eyes lit up. He raised his hand, and Inoichi could have sworn that he heard the sound of wind coming from outside the room. Hiruzen beckoned Inoichi to continue his speech. "I believe that the seal on Naruto-kun is weakening."

"Why would you say this? It's a very serious claim you're making, Yamanaka-san. If the seal is weakening, we'll have to quarter Naruto-kun off for an indefinite period until he can be resealed. It could take months, if not years to make another seal strong enough to restrain the Kyuubi. And I would not wish another shinobi to die like Minato-kun." Hiruzen's voice sounded like gravel as he spoke. Inoichi held back a flinch. He felt bad for adding yet another trouble onto Hiruzen's shoulders, but knew that it was too important to ignore.

"Naruto-kun performed a jutsu that I had never heard of awhile back. I investigated and found no evidence of such a jutsu ever existing, and he is unable to craft jutsu on his own. I asked him to allow me into his mind, and he let me in. That was when I came into conflict with the Kyuubi." Inoichi looked away, hiding from the firestorm that was bound to come. Hiruzen did not disappoint.

"WHAT? You entered Naruto-kun's mind under such circumstances? You are lucky it did not cause your death! Be more wary, Yamanaka-san! I can understand your worries, but you should have never done it if any other routes were possible." Hiruzen thundered before grumbling and sitting back into his chair. Inoichi looked over at Hiruzen curiously, wondering what had caused the old man to quiet so suddenly. "Jiraiya, you can't ever hide from me. Stop your hiding and come out."

Inoichi looked over to the window where he saw a mass of white hair trailing down from the entrance. The sage dropped down onto the windowsill before entering the room. His robes were covered in dirt, making them more brown than red. Instead of his usual smile, a frown touched his face. "Yo," Jiraiya said in greeting as he sauntered over towards the table.

"Hello, Jiraiya-san," Inoichi said with a quick bow. "I suppose you heard..."

"I heard, Yamanaka-san," Jiraiya replied amiably. "I've heard quite a lot actually. Some of it here, and some of it there..." Jiraiya leaned up against the table and crossed his arms. "You'd be quite surprised about what can circulate around the countries. Not all of it is good though."

Inoichi glanced from Jiraiya to Hiruzen. The two of them were sharing a long look at one another, and Inoichi knew that Jiraiya meant more than what he had said. However, it was obviously not a conversation for him to be involved in. "What do you think we should do with Naruto-kun, Jiraiya-san? I trust that you have an opinion on the matter?"

"Ah, I do actually. Let me deal with him. I can evaluate whether or not the seal really is weakening if I spend enough time with him." Jiraiya jabbed his thumb towards himself before giving a cocky smile. It was as if the staring contest had never taken place. "Don't worry your little blonde head."

Inoichi twitched in annoyance, screwing his face up into fake complacency. "I see. That is very kind of you, Jiraiya-san. I do hope it will not be too much trouble though."

"Naw, it's no problem, blondie. Now can you leave? The old man and I have something to talk about." Inoichi was about to protest when he saw the look in Jiraiya's eyes. A shiver ran down Inoichi's back. Jiraiya was not to be contested right now.

"Sure. Make sure you tell me about your sessions with Naruto-kun though. We should know as early as possible so that it doesn't interfere with the Exams." Inoichi turned and walked away from the desk and exited the room, leaving the two alone.

Jiraiya watched the door close behind Inoichi before turning towards Hiruzen. The sparkle in his eyes dimmed as he asked, "Hey, Hiruzen-sensei. Why did you decide to keep _that thing_ a secret?" Hiruzen sighed and took the Hokage hat off of his head. He laid it down on the table and laced his fingers together.

"If Konoha knew that their former Hokage's son was the demon, then Naruto-kun would never be given the chance to prove that he was more than just Minato-kun's shadow. Minato-kun would have wanted Naruto-kun to be able to prove himself a hero without relying on the Namikaze name. The only way to prevent everyone from seeing the resemblance between the two of them was to claim that Naruto-kun became more like Minato-kun because of the sealing," Hiruzen said solemnly. His head was already beginning to ache in preparation for the turn this conversation would take.

"And what do you think has come of it now? Your story has made him out to be one of the shape-shifting demons depicted in all of the awful horror novels. Now it is easier to compare Naruto to a demon than it ever could have been before. Naruto has suffered too much to make it worth it, Hiruzen-sensei. You might have wanted to give Naruto the opportunity to make himself a hero, but couldn't you see this was bound to happen? The people of Konoha had to place their blame on something, someone. Naruto is the Kyuubi's container. It's obvious that they would turn to him as their scapegoat. He needed to be protected, not left alone," Jiraiya said, turning his head away.

"What would you have done, Jiraiya?" Hiruzen demanded, slamming his hands on his desk. "What would you have done if your successor's last words were to let Naruto-kun be a hero? Minato-kun would not have wanted Naruto-kun to have an artificial love. He would have wanted Naruto to earn his respect like he did. If I had told them all that Naruto-kun was Minato-kun's son, then they would have worshipped him for being the son of their beloved dead Hokage. They never would have looked at him as if he was anything other than Minato-kun's son!" Hiruzen leaned back into his chair and looked up at the ceiling. "Konohamaru is a perfect example of that. Asuma only managed to escape the grasp of the name 'Hokage's child' because he was born before I became Hokage." Hiruzen closed his eyes and whispered, "Really, what was I supposed to do?"

Jiraiya lowered his head and murmured, "I would have told Konoha that Naruto is the hero that sacrificed his own future to stop the Kyuubi from destroying the city. Every day he saves the city, no, the country, from havoc because he keeps the Kyuubi at bay. It's true, isn't it? Naruto will never truly be normal with that thing inside of him."

Hiruzen gave a choking laugh and shook his head, "This is why I hate writers. There is always another way out for you, isn't there? I wish you were there when I had to make the choice. Then maybe," Hiruzen smiled sadly at Jiraiya, "then maybe none of this would have had to happen."

-TSUME-

Kei ran her hand through her hair. She groaned and rested her forehead down on the table. Why wasn't there anything that she could use? The library, despite being filled to the brim with books, had next to nothing on the topic she wanted, Bijuu. Everyone knew about the demons, but no one seemed to write about them. There was no such thing as a history based primarily on the Bijuu. There were little bits about the Kyuubi in the most recent Konohagakure history tomes, but not much else.

Kei supposed that information on the Bijuu was supposed to remain a secret. Was it even possible to learn about the other countries' Bijuu? It was possible to theorize that all Bijuu were sealed in containers such as Naruto, but there was nothing written about them. It was a bloody nuisance in her opinion. Ninja books were made to inform people about important information that could be used in a time of crisis. So why wasn't there one on such an important subject?

She covered her head with her hands and grumbled into the wood. She has spent the past few days in the library, and she didn't doubt that she'd be in there for quite a bit longer at this rate. Her golden eyes flicked up to see a shadow looming over the table. Kei sighed and sat up slowly. She crossed her arms and asked, "What are you doing here, Shikamaru-san?"

"I'm on the run, obviously," Shikamaru said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Father wants me to train more after my failure in the semi-finals, but there isn't really a reason for me to train right now. That, and it is my general preference to stall training as long as I can. It's too troublesome. You on the other hand," Shikamaru walked around the table and took a seat across from her. "You should be training like mad for the finals. Instead, you've locked yourself up in here. Why aren't you training? Something has to be wrong."

Kei glanced around the library, making sure there was nobody around. When she was sure that the area was clear, she leaned towards him and whispered into his ear. After telling him all that had happened a few days ago at the training grounds, she moved back into her seat. Shikamaru rubbed the side of his head and said, "Ahh... That... that is very troublesome." He bit the inside of his cheek and glanced down to the books that were scattered around the table. "So that is why you've been locked up in here. Have you found out anything that could be useful?"

Kei leaned back into her chair and threw her arms up in the air, "No, I have not! There's no data in this entire library about the Bijuu! Sealings don't happen very often, and there used to be a clan dedicated solely to the purpose of keeping the Kyuubi sealed within them. That clan is now gone, and all information about sealing went with them. When the Kyuubi was sealed the last time, the sealer had the bad fortune to die as he performed the seal. In fact, everyone within a few meters was dead after that. No one knows anything about how that seal was performed." Kei groaned in exasperation.

"Bijuu aren't talked about much, but apparently there are apparently quite a few of them. If Sabaku-san has one as well as Naruto-san, then it would be safe to say that the Bijuu are spread throughout all the countries. I assume that human containers are the only containers strong enough to hold the Bijuu which is why no other methods have been created for sealing yet. But..." Kei sighed and rapped the book she was reading with her knuckles, "Books hold no information about the stuff that really matters. I can find books on medical treatments in the library, but since there are not that many Bijuu there was never a reason for a book to be published. All the records on Bijuu and their effects on a human container must be sealed away into the hospital database."

Shikamaru hummed in thought. "What if you are looking in the wrong place?" At Kei's confused face, he explained, "All Bijuu are sealed, correct? If you are looking to find something that will help you strengthen the seal on the Kyuubi, then you might just want to look in fuuinjutsu books. There are probably notes in there about resealing powerful demons and the like. It might not be specific to the Kyuubi, but there should be something in case of emergencies."

Kei pushed around the tangle of books on the table before grabbing a large brownish red book and dropping it in front of Shikamaru. "I have looked there already. This is all that they have. Someone named Jiraiya-sensei wrote it. He's really the only big name in fuuinjutsu save for the select clans that mass produce seals for a living. After the Kyuubi containing clan died, Konoha lost its last fuuinjutsu based clan. There aren't any in the rest of the fire country if I remember correctly."

"Jiraiya-sensei?" Shikamaru blinked before saying, "He's come back to Konoha recently. Perhaps you can find him later. He's supposed to stay around for the rest of the chuunin exams."

Kei's head whipped towards Shikamaru. "How do you know that while I don't?" Had she messed up somehow with her information network? She prided herself on knowing next to everything, but how could she miss something as important as that?

Shikamaru shook his head before flicking her on the forehead, "You've been spending too much time in the library. I asked Inoichi-sensei, and he said that he hasn't seen you for a while now. When was the last time you left the library to eat anyways?"

Kei tilted her head over to the side before saying, "I don't quite remember actually. The library doesn't close, so I might have been in here for a while... Maybe two days give or take a bit?" Shikamaru sighed and shook his head wearily.

"That can't possibly be healthy, Kei-san. You have to go eat." Kei opened her mouth to protested, but Shikamaru raised his hand to shush her. "You might see Jiraiya-sensei while you go out. You're not going to get anything done here, so come with me." Shikamaru stood up from the table, walked around to the other side, grabbed Kei by the hand, and pulled her out to the library.

-TSUME-

"You have to relax more, Tenten-chan!" Ino snapped her chopsticks at Tenten. "We haven't gone out to eat together in ages, and you're always gone whenever I try to visit your dad. I know you're missing Hyuuga-san, but that is something that the investigative division should handle. I don't want you to get yourself hurt, dearie!" The blonde smiled amiably before picking up a piece of beef from the barbeque in front of her.

Beside her, Hinata rested her hands quietly on her lap. She looked over at the girl across the table and said, "I really do appreciate what you are trying to do, Tenten-chan, but I'm worried too. You're going to run yourself ragged unless you take a break. Neji-nii-sama wouldn't have wanted for you to make yourself ill over him." She brushed her hair out of her face and smiled softly at Tenten.

Tenten sighed and poked one of the pieces of meat on the grill. "Thanks, Hinata-chan. I'll try to rest a bit more... I guess." It was obvious that Tenten's mind was not with them at the moment. She was too busy thinking of other things. She leaned back against the cushioned chairs and looked up at the ceiling. It had just been a few days when Naruto had approached her to talk.

"_Hey Tenten-chan!" Tenten looked over her shoulder to see the blonde dervish scuttling towards her. He pulled to a stop before spluttering hurriedly, "I'm glad that you're still here! I need to talk to you quickly. But uh... Can we do it in private?" Tenten looked at Naruto curiously before nodding. _

She had never even thought of the possibility that Konoha would have an underground rebellion brewing. The town just seemed so... peaceful. People were still going about their everyday business. Children were laughing and playing in the streets. Merchants were trying to snag the attention of all that passed by. If Neji hadn't died, she probably would have never believed what Naruto had told her. But since Neji died, she had begun to suspect almost everyone around her.

Guilt sat heavily in her heart. Naruto had told her about why Neji had died. Maybe... maybe he wouldn't have died if she hadn't gotten so badly injured. He might not have changed sides if she was injured very superficially, but if she hadn't fallen unconscious, then maybe things would be different. Tenten bit the inside of her lip. No, she couldn't think about how it was her fault. She had to think about what she could do now.

Tenten looked down at the two girls sitting in the booth across from her. There was a chance that at least one of the girls was a part of the rebellion. Her grip on her chopsticks tightened. If they were a part of the rebellion, then they were also culpable for Neji's death. The wooden sticks snapped in her grip, and splinters fell down onto the table. "Tenten-chan! Chopsticks are not senbon! You can't handle them so roughly! You're never going to find a man if you can't even hold chopsticks properly." Ino clicked her tongue before turning towards a passing waiter. "You there! We need another set of chopsticks. The ones you brought before were obviously too flimsy. Get them right away!"

"Oi, Ino-chan." Tenten lowered Ino's hand and said, "You don't have to say it like that. You could have just asked you know."

Ino huffed and pulled her hand away and crossed her arms. "That's the only way to get things done around here. If I knew where the chopsticks were, then I wouldn't have even asked. The only way to get anything done is to do it yourself."

"What kind of things, Ino-chan?" Tenten asked quietly before taking a sip of her water.

"Oh, you know. Things," Ino waved her hand flippantly with a sugar sweet smile on her face. She didn't even notice Hinata's white eyes boring into her as she picked up another piece of meat.

-TSUME-

Anko pulled out another stick of dango from her box and chewed on it. Eating helped her think. Or at least, she liked to think that it did. It was a nice way to rationalize the copious amounts of dango that she ate every day. The gravel crunched underneath her feet as she made her way back into the town. She had been thinking a lot about what had happened in the second part of the exams. She had made a promise to help Sakura, but she hadn't seen the little pinkette much. Anko sighed. This was going to be a bit harder than she thought.

Anko closed her eyes and wandered down the street for a moment before bumping into a figure. "Watch where you're goi-" Anko complained until she realized who it was. Sakura was on the ground in front of her, rubbing the back of her head. Anko was somehow relieved at the occurrence. Even if she had just bulldozed a genin to the ground, it was an opportunity to talk to the girl! "Hey there. What do you think you are doing?"

Sakura silently got up onto her feet and brushed herself off. She looked over her shoulder, and Anko followed her gaze to where Ino, Tenten, and Hinata were eating in the restaurant window. The trio of girls were smiling and laughing with one another. Anko's eyes glanced down towards Sakura who had wrapped her arms tightly around herself. Anko twitched slightly. The image was familiar to her. She remembered being like that after first returning to Konoha after being with Orochimaru. It was the feeling that she felt when she was on the outside looking in.

"Do you feel lonely, girlie?" Sakura didn't answer. Anko scratched the back of her head before saying, "Hey, how about I treat you to dango? I know a nice little place up the road where we can visit. It's really awesome, ya know? So come on!" Anko looped an arm around Sakura and wheeled her away from the other genin in the barbeque restaurant.

"Genin are really strange aren't they, girlie? No offense intended, but you're all really just kids. Kids have hearts like a snake's, so I wouldn't worry about them. I mean, friendships come and go when you're a kid. If you really think you're going to find your best friends for life as a kid, there's a pretty high chance you're going to get cheated. You have to just go with the flow, girlie!" Anko rambled on as she dragged the girl back out towards the dango store.

"Just because you're having a hard time now doesn't mean it will always be this way. Heck, hardship is what changes us. If we're always happy, then we'll never be forced to evolve into something better! Plus, is it really that fun laughing at someone else's crappy jokes? Not really. Trust me. Even the jounin I know now tell some pretty awful jokes that I have an obligation to laugh. You're almost better off not getting involved with all the kiddoes." Anko looked down at the pinkette who was quietly walking alongside her.

Sakura really was a strange one. Anko vividly remembered considering Sakura to be one of the groupies that were like the plague, but now Sakura seemed so different. She was incredibly quiet and meditative. It was an improvement, yet it wasn't. Anko huffed as they turned into the dango store once again. She led Sakura to one of the booths and said, "I'll be right back once I get some dango for us, okay?" Without waiting for Sakura's reply, for Anko knew better than to expect one, Anko went to the store owner.

In a few minutes, Anko returned with a few plates of dango. She set them down on the table before settling into her own seat. The jounin picked up a stick before pointing it at Sakura, "You had better eat up too! Don't listen to what anyone says about dango. I swear there has to be some sort of healthy junk in here otherwise I would never be able to walk properly. The people who say it makes you unfit have no idea."

Anko chewed on her dango stick for a few moments before Sakura finally spoke. "Why are you talking to me?" Sakura's voice was soft like a mouse. Her head was bowed low, and she was hunched down low. She looked so defeated. It depressed Anko.

"We're practically sisters, so this is sisterly bonding time! On that note, it's the older sister's duty to preen the younger one." Anko leaned over the table and flicked Sakura's chin before poking her in the back with the stick, "Chin up, back straight, eyes looking forward! You're going to make yourself smaller unless you sit up and stretch yourself out!"

"What do you mean, 'We're like sisters'? We're not even related!" Sakura squeaked as she was prodded. She clasped her hands tightly together on her lap and shuffled awkwardly in her chair.

"We share some of the same DNA now," Anko leaned back and nodded at her handiwork. She placed the dango stick on the table before sweeping her hair away from her curse mark. "Don't you think that is pretty special, girlie?"

Sakura clapped her hand on the side of her neck when she saw the mark. She glanced at the three swirling dots on Anko's neck before looking down at the dango on the table. Anko noticed Sakura shake slightly and sighed. "It's nothing to be nervous about, girlie. You just need to be able to control it."

"But I don't think that I can!" Sakura burst out before hiccupping. She rubbed her hand against her face and said, "There's no way that I can."

Anko frowned and asked, "Why do you say that?"

"I keep on hearing voices in my head. They never leave me alone, not even when I sleep! Whenever I go to bed, I know I'll hear them again! They..." Sakura bit her lip, "They keep on telling me to kill Uchiha-san and Inuzuka-san. Then I see all of these images of all the ways I could kill them. Over and over and over again." Sakura raised her hands to the sides of her head. Her voice held a hint of panic to it as she said, "Then... Then they tell me to go kill everyone else who has ever tormented me."

Anko looked at Sakura, her eyes flashing. "Come on, girlie," Anko said, reaching across the table. "We're going to get you some help."

**Author's Note: I have finally gotten over my recent sickness! It made it so for the past few days, all I could do was sit in sickness. It was not fun at all. It appears to be over now, so I'm greatly relieved. I wasn't even able to eat Thanksgiving dinner properly because I was feeling sick at the time! –snaps fingers- Oh well. Anyways, that is the long excuse for explaining why I didn't update on time. Sorry about that! It's longer than my recent chapters, so I hope that makes up for it. **

**Thanks for reading Tsume, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

**Also, to the anonymous that dislikes ocs: I do understand that you may not like original characters, however, please do not insult them. I created them for important plot developments, and this story could not have developed properly if I did not create them.**


	32. At a Distance

Nothing makes the earth seem so spacious as to have friends at a distance; they make the latitudes and longitudes.  
**-Henry David Thoreau**

Chapter 31: At A Distance

"Ahh, so you're Naruto-kun's friends, eh?" Jiraiya put down his sake cup and smiled jollily. "I never thought Naruto-kun would get such a cute girl to be his friend!" Kei's brow twitched. Ever since they had stumbled across Jiraiya on their way to the barbeque store, Jiraiya had spouted never-ending nonsense about pretty ladies. Kei was used to gathering information. The nice thing about facts was that they were facts. They were not biased and were conventionally not absurdly incorrect.

But somehow, it appeared that nearly everything she had thought she had known about Jiraiya was wrong. Jiraiya was not sagely, despite his name, and apparently wrote disgusting orange covered novels. She had managed to not gather that little bit of information before coming to meet with him. She sorely regretted her oversight now. "Yes, we are his genin team. And I thank you for your compliment, but will you stop talking like that? It's irritating me," Kei said shortly. She had spent the past few days in the library, talking to a perverted drunkard was the last thing she wanted right now. Kei wished she could pick his brain instead of talking to him. It would be ever so much easier.

"Sorry, sorry!" Jiraiya sheepishly rubbed the back of his head "I'm just excited to finally see Naruto-kun again, you know? It's been a long, long time. I never really saw him actually. I only saw him when he was in his mum's belly." Shikamaru turned to look at Jiraiya sharply. After being wrangled into this mess, his mind had been drifting away, but that had brought him back to the table.

"You know who his parents are?" Shikamaru asked.

Jiraiya, immediately recognizing his mistake, fumbled for an answer. "Kind of. Well yeah, I guess so. Er... I would prefer not to talk about it though. It's been a long time and bad memories surround the entire mess. They died on the day of the Kyuubi incident after all." Shikamaru crossed his arms. That would make it difficult to guess who his parents were. Too many people died on that day to systematically go through them all and look for the dead couples.

"In any case, I heard you wanted to talk to me about something?" Jiraiya picked up the sake glass before pouring a bit more into his saucer. The two genin looked at one another. They hadn't really planned out how they would go about questioning Jiraiya. They knew that it was unlikely they would get the chance to talk to him in private like this ever again, but didn't quite know how to ask about the seals.

"I'm an amateur in fuuinjutsu. There aren't many experts, and there was only one book in the library. I wanted to ask you about some sealing techniques that I had thought about. You know, to see if they would theoretically work," Kei said, fiddling with the notebook on her lap. She was really making things up as she went right now. Everything she had said was true, but she hadn't ever made a seal of her own or even sketched one.

"Fuuinjutsu, eh? You'd be better off getting yourself apprenticed to someone for a few years, but I can tell you a bit. Shoot then, girlie." Jiraiya nodded and took a sip. He peered at the two genin past the saucer that was in his face. It was obvious they had no clue what they were doing, but he couldn't puzzle out their motive. Until he could figure that out, he'd play along for now.

"I don't want to stall my training in other subjects. Our team decided that if we were to be well-rounded we should devote certain members to certain subjects. I was allotted fuuinjutsu and medical ninjutsu. If I was apprenticed I would be too lacking in other subjects," Kei said. She ran a hand through her hair nervously before continuing, "I've heard about seals that can repress certain abilities. I want to know how they work. Do they stop the ability in particular or do they filter chakra to prevent certain actions?"

"The latter. Chakra is the name of the collective energy source, but there are multiple subsets. Like how we have plasma, red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets in our blood. The seals merely prevent certain parts from flowing," Jiraiya replied quickly. "Next question."

"How do you recognize the chakra composition and single them out to make a seal to block it?" Kei asked.

"Now why would a little girl like you want to know about that? Seals like those are normally only used when a chakra based poison has infiltrated a certain chakra component." Jiraiya smiled at the two genin who were worriedly thinking of an answer. They couldn't simply say that they were trying to search for the Kyuubi's chakra in order to block it from Naruto's mind.

"A civilian friend of mine has a chakra network of her own, but was prevented from becoming a ninja due to a periodic chakra poisoning. The pores where the element comes out have defects which cause her to react badly whenever she tries to use her chakra, and I wanted to see if I could fix that." Kei internally winced. She hated how good at lying she was getting.

"Ahh, I see. I guess that Konoha doesn't have enough fuuinjutsu experts in the hospital to fix her and the seals are expensive to import. I suppose that it can't hurt to tell you a bit about that if it will help your friend." Jiraiya crossed his legs under the table and gave a sly smile. Shikamaru swallowed. Jiraiya didn't seem like he bought it at all! The words were relieving, but his smile almost looked mocking. Crap.

-TSUME-

Anko stamped her foot on the ground. "I don't care what he's doing." Turning on the door, she yelled, "**YOU GOT THAT, OLD MAN?**I'm coming on in!" Anko released Sakura's hand before turning on her heels and kicking the door. The door to the Hokage's office snapped open, revealing Hiruzen and one of his assistants.

"Ah, Mitarashi-san. I see that you have something so important that it could not wait ten seconds for me to open the door?" Hiruzen gave a tight smile and clasped his fingers together tightly. He was still irritated from the conversation earlier that morning and was not in the mood to deal with paying for yet another door. Ninja did not always use their brute force for the most worthwhile causes.

"That idiot," Anko said, gesturing at the horrified assistant behind her, "told me to make an appointment for you next week. Like heck I'm going to make an appointment!" Anko looked from the man beside Hiruzen back to the Hokage and said, "Looks like you aren't doing anything important anyways."

Hiruzen gave a loud sigh before saying, "You're dismissed, Ootaki-san. I will talk to you about the matter later." The scarecrow-like man quirked an eyebrow before exiting the room. He grabbed the sagging door and gingerly drew it to a close before stalking away. Hiruzen turned back to Anko and Sakura and asked, "Well, what are you here for that is so desperately important?"

Anko looked down at the pale pinkette by her side before shoving the girl forward towards the Hokage. Sakura tripped over her feet as she stumbled forward. She managed to pull herself to a stop just in front of the desk before gulping worriedly. Her emerald eyes looked back at Anko nervously before looking at the Hokage. She opened her mouth to speak before closing it again. It took her a few moments before she said, "I think something is wrong with me. Something has been strange ever since that time in the exams."

Sakura lifted her hand to the side of her neck and clenched it tightly. Her nails dug into her skin. Hiruzen reached out to touch her, but she recoiled as if she had just been struck. Her eyes were wide with fear as she turned down to look at the ground. "Don't come near me. It's hard enough just being here..." Hiruzen's wrinkled face softened as Sakura shook.

"Just being in this room hurts my head. There's this voice telling me to...to..." Sakura swallowed and shook her head. Anko nudged her on the shoulder, and Sakura blurted out, "Slaughter him where he is because he allowed everything to happen to you. If it wasn't for him, then none of this would have happened in the first place. You should kill him too." She shuddered. "It won't stop! I can plug my ears all I want, but it's in my head!"

Anko wrapped her arms around Sakura and pulled her into a tight hug. She looked up at Hiruzen with worried eyes. Hiruzen bit his lip tightly as he looked at the distraught girl. It was obvious that she wasn't faking. It was even more obvious that it was a side effect from the cursed seal. Unfortunately, they didn't know that much about what happened to those with the seals. All they knew was that the death rate was fairly high for those that received the seals. Could this be a sign of deterioration?

"It will be all right, Sakura-chan. We won't let anything happen to you," Hiruzen said gently.

"I'm not afraid of anything that could happen to me!" Sakura shouted. "I'm afraid of what I could do! I feel like I should be locked up somewhere so that I can't hurt anyone. It's like I'm going mad, but I realize that I'm insane." Sakura clenched her teeth tightly and winced as the voice shouted in her head. It told her about how stupid she was for telling the Hokage about this and how it would ruin their plans. She just wanted it to keep quiet and for it to leave her alone.

Anko looked up at Hiruzen before nodding towards the windows. Hiruzen sighed and nodded. "Sakura-chan, these are special circumstances. We don't quite know what is going on, but we're going to do our best to help you. Mitarashi-san and another one of my men will be assigned to keep watch over you. One of them will always be around, so you don't want to worry. They will also help you train for the exams since it is probably unwise for Hatake-san to watch over you while his attention is divided." Sakura nodded slightly before looking back down again.

Hiruzen stood up from his chair and said, "Good. I know this will be difficult for you, Sakura-chan, but I hope it will help you. We will do all we can to stop that voice. Stay strong for us, all right?" Sakura quietly whispered her acknowledgement, and Anko led the girl out the door.

As soon as they left, Hiruzen signaled for the ANBU outside his room to come in. In a flash, a hawk-masked ANBU stood in front of him in a low bow. "Hawk, find Uchiha Sasuke and Hatake Kakashi and bring them here." After the ANBU shunshined away, Hiruzen walked in front of the window with his hands clasped behind his back. If Sakura was having such problems, there was no reason to believe that Sasuke wasn't suffering the same way.

-TSUME-

Inoichi quietly walked down the cobblestone path. People passed him by, each of them going his or her way. By casting a simple glance he could tell that the young man that had rushed past was late for his delivery. The boy had a panicked look on his face as if there was a demon chasing after him, telling him to hurry up. Inoichi snorted. It would have been nice to only have to worry about making the next delivery. He understood that civilians had their own share of troubles, but they seemed so unimportant in comparison. Could a late payment really compare to what he was worrying about now?

Inoichi bit his lip. For being the former head of Torture and Interrogation, he hated how susceptible he was to these wayward thoughts. He knew that Naruto was different from the Kyuubi. He_knew it_. So why was he having all of these doubts? The Kyuubi had a presence in Naruto's mind, but that did not mean that he had invaded Naruto's inner sanctum. Inoichi bobbed his head up and down. That had to be it. The seal was preventing the Kyuubi from affecting Naruto's mind. It wasn't even a sure thing that Naruto had a channel to talk to the Kyuubi, right?

Inoichi lifted a hand to the side of his head and sighed. All the worry was beginning to give him a headache. It wasn't at all pleasant, so he tried to clear his mind. He looked up at the faintly blue sky with a melancholy expression. He could only hope that life would get simpler soon, but with the rebellion, he had no doubt that it would get worse before it got better.

He trudged back down the streets before making a turn around the corner. He saw the familiar sign of the Yamanaka Flower Shop, and a wave of nostalgia hit him. The store must have been difficult to run without him around. He was sure that his wife must have been overloaded and hoped that Ino helped out a bit. Inoichi sped up his pace as he neared the store, just wanting to get inside. He needed a rest from everything that had been going on.

The bell chimed as he pushed the door open, and he heard his wife call out a welcome. A small smile touched Inoichi's face as he yelled back, "It's me, Arisa!" A head of brown hair popped out from the field of flowers in the fridge, and Arisa exited the flower storage. She wiped her wet hands on the splotchy brown and white apron that covered her teal dress.

"Inoichi, it is nice to see that you have time to come back and visit your poor lonely family once and awhile." Arisa smiled gently as she made her way over to her husband. She gave Inoichi a quick hug before sending a quick glance to the back of the store. "No one is here currently, so may I talk to you in the back?"

"Of course." Inoichi followed his wife back to the storage room where Arisa closed the door behind him. The key clicked into the lock, and Arisa shook the handle to make sure the door locked. Once she was satisfied, she turned on her husband.

"Something is wrong with Ino," Arisa said shortly. "She is not the same as she used to be. For the longest time, she always helped out in the store when she was off-duty, but now she simply runs to her room. Has something happened? She will not tell me anything, but I cannot help but be suspicious. I will not have her being bullied by her fellow ninja if that is what is going on."

"I haven't heard anything from her." Inoichi raised his hands up. "I've been busy with my duties. You know how it is, Arisa. Until my team graduates to chuunin, I don't have much time at home. Ino-chan and I will be going out on different missions unless we get assigned a joint job. My genin are friends with Ino-chan though. I'm sure that they would have told me if Ino-chan was having problems."

"I still worry though, Inoichi. It is not normal for her to be like this." Arisa crossed her arms tightly and tapped her foot. "I have tried talking to her, but she will not tell me anything, so now it is your turn. Ino is in the village and should be returning within the next hour or so. I want you to talk to her." Inoichi flinched slightly. His wife was strong-willed when she wanted to be. He knew that even if he said that he had other responsibilities, he would end up doing what she wanted anyways. In any case, he did want to talk to Ino. They had been distant lately, and he wanted to bridge that gap again.

"Yes, ma'am." Inoichi walked over to her and pecked her on the forehead. Arisa sighed and shook her head.

"Sometimes it is impossible to tell if you are joking or not. Just make sure you talk to her, all right?" Arisa slipped the key out and stuck it into the lock again. She turned the key, and the door opened. "I know you have a lot on your plate, but make sure to take care of your daughter. Once she grows up, you will wish that you had spent more time with her."

Inoichi nodded, "I got it. I'll talk to her. Don't you worry about it." Inoichi was about to exit the storage when the sound of twinkling bells was heard.

"I'm back, Mom!" Ino's voice echoed throughout the store.

Arisa sent Inoichi a poignant look before calling back, "Your father and I are back in the flower storage, Ino! Can you come back for a bit?" She quieted her voice and whispered to Inoichi, "Now is your chance. Talk to her." She shoved Inoichi out the door. Ino rounded the corner of the shop and walked over to where her parents were.

"What is it that you need? I got stuff to do, you know." Ino kicked back against the wall and rested her hands behind her head. Inoichi looked at her carefully. She looked little like the spritely young girl he had known only a few months ago. The glow in her eyes was gone and was replaced by something Inoichi couldn't recognize. Was it determination or was it simply untamed ferocity? Inoichi wanted it to be the former, but wasn't sure that it was.

"It's just that I haven't talked to you for a while, Ino-chan. I've missed you," Inoichi said with a soft smile on his face. "How is your life as a genin now?"

Ino huffed. "Is that all you wanted from me? Geez. I thought it was something important or something. I'm fine, dad. Stop worrying about me so much. Being a genin is exactly the same as how it was thirty or so years ago when you were one. Maybe longer ago, I forgot." Inoichi cringed. Age would always be a sensitive topic as he grew older.

"I just thought it would be good to talk, Ino-chan. We're a family after all." Inoichi tried again, but Ino was already moving away.

"We're a family, but we all have separate obligations to fill. I have stuff to do, so I'll be off." Ino swept away with her ponytail swaying behind her. Inoichi sighed and shook his head. He would never understand girls.

-TSUME-

Shikamaru kicked off his shoes at the doorway. The tan shoes tumbled into the small pile at the edge of the entryway. Being that they were all lazy, they very rarely ordered their shoes in any manner other than a pile. Shikamaru leaned back against the entryway wall and sighed. He couldn't believe that they had managed to survive the meeting with Jiraiya. It showed so many signs of falling apart at the seams.

It confused him a bit. Why hadn't Jiraiya called them out on what they were trying to learn? They hadn't done a very good job at concealing the fact that there was no friend with chakra poisoning. There had been a twinkle in Jiraiya's eyes, but Shikamaru didn't quite understand what it was supposed to mean. Well, it was too troublesome to think about for now. Shikamaru stepped up onto the wood flooring and walked down the hall. The hall was dark, but ahead Shikamaru could see a dim glow from outside his father's study.

Shikamaru scratched the side of his head before sighing. It was about time to talk about_that thing_wasn't it? His footsteps were silent as he made his way towards the room. Shikamaru pressed up against the wall and peeked into the room. His father was sitting at his desk riffling through the drawer's contents. Shikamaru leaned back against the wall and rubbed his head. He really hated confrontation, but he supposed it would have to be done sooner or later.

Shikamaru slipped his fingers into the handle of the door before dragging it wide open. Shikaku's head shot up like a bullet at the sound of the door. He dropped the files that were in his hands back into the drawer and quickly closed it. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. Was that supposed to look inconspicuous? "Shikamaru, haven't I told you to knock before you enter the office? What are you doing here anyways? I thought you were going out with your friend for the day."

"The day is already over for the most part, or have you not noticed?" Shikamaru carefully sidestepped around the first question as he walked over to where his father was. Shikaku watched his son's steps like a hawk before pushing his chair back, effectively preventing Shikamaru from nearing the drawer.

"I suppose I hadn't. I've been quite busy you know. There are a lot of clan meetings coming up an-" Shikaku began to explain before Shikamaru interrupted him.

"I thought we had a deal never to keep secrets from one another? The other will always find out anyways, so what's the bother?" Shikamaru crossed his arms and stared at his father. "Don't do such troublesome things, father. I already know what is in that drawer."

* * *

**Author's Note: This author's note is going to be pretty long because of a question that was asked by an anonymous reviewer. It's a really good question, and I had to think a lot about it. ^^ If anyone ever has any questions, feel free to ask them! I probably will not include them in my chapter unless they are either done by an anon reviewer or are important clarifications, but I will answer them by messaging you!**

**Thanks to Pokepikachu1 for betaing me and thanks to you for reading Team Tsume!**

**To Aimless Wanderer: Hey there! In this story, Hiruzen is currently at the age of 72 going on 73. He is a bit older than he was in canon, but if you are interested in my timeline it is below. It's quite long.**

**Hiruzen had to have had Asuma at the age of 40-41 considering Hiruzen was 69 when he died in canon and Asuma was 27-28 during this time period. Assuming this, I then had to calculate how old Hiruzen was when he became Hokage. I know he became Hokage after his predecessor, Senju Tobirama, nominated him before subsequently dying in the First Shinobi World War. About twenty years later (I'll give it 15-20), the Second Shinobi World War happened. I do not believe there are any details pertaining to how long the Second Shinobi World War was, so I am assuming it was approximately one to three years long. Now onto the Third Shinobi War! Not much is known about this war actually. I can't even place the relative date it happened after the Second Shinobi World War! This... Is confusing to me. Since many young children were used (not enough time to have them grow up?), I place it about a year or three after the SSWW and it lasted about approximately a year. This puts Hiruzen at 59-68. Minato became Hokage soon after, but his reign was noted as being rather short. I'd place it at about one to two years. (Why is Kishimoto doing this to me? D: Can't he make a timeline for all of us poor fanfiction writers?!) Minato died in the Kyuubi Incident when Naruto was born, so that means another twelve to thirteen years pass. So now Hiruzen is an old guy at 72-83. These are all guesstimates though, and I guess I was a little off on my timeline. I hope that sort of helped to explain why Hiruzen is a bit older in my story! ^^ And... For a quick question, that was not a quick answer. Sorry!**


	33. Suspension of Logic

Intuition is a suspension of logic due to impatience.  
**-Rita Mae Brown**

Chapter 32: Suspension of Logic

A frown creased Shikaku's forehead. How had Shikamaru found out about the files in his desk? He had been sure to lock the drawer whenever he left it. As a matter of fact, why had Shikamaru been probing in his office anyways? Shikamaru had always been a curious child, but rarely did he venture out to discover things unless he was pressed to. It wasn't consistent with Shikamaru's nature. "May I ask why you happen to know such a thing?"

Shikamaru gave a careless shrug. "Things just happened. You know how it goes." Shikaku disagreed. He didn't know_how it went_. What else could Shikamaru have been snooping for in his office? Could the search have been a direct search for what was in the drawer? Shikaku slid a hand under his desk and into the darkness. Until Shikamaru gave him positive or negative confirmation, Shikaku had to be prepared to snag his son in a jutsu.

"Were you ever going to tell me? Were you ever going to tell anyone?" Shikamaru crossed his arms and leaned up against the wall. His eyes were cold like ice as he stared at his father. He noticed his father hide a hand under the desk and clenched his under his arms.

"I wasn't planning on it." Shikaku crossed his legs. "It isn't something that you have to be involved in. I was planning on getting you and Yoshino out of here before it escalated too far. I was hoping you would understand afterwards, but it seems I don't have to worry about that now." Shikaku gave a long and drawn out sigh before mumbling, "I get rid of one worry and get three more in exchange."

"And I thought mother was the only troublesome one here," Shikamaru said with a chuckle. "Were you really expecting me to be that stupid? Mother always said I inherited my 'good' looks from her and my 'pesky' brain from you. I would never let you just trick me like that."

"I didn't think you were that stupid. I just assumed that I was that smart." Shikaku hated how he felt similar to when he was a child and his mother had caught him skipping work. "So? What are you going to do now with this discovery? You realize that I was hiding it for a reason, don't you?" Shikaku didn't want to think that Shikamaru was a threat, but he wasn't in the position to assume anything at this time. If he had to disable his son to remove him from the playing field, he would. There could be no liabilities in this mission.

"Of course I realize that. The purpose of hiding something is normally to prevent people from seeing it." Shikamaru quipped. "But I won't tell anyone that doesn't already know about_it_."

"That's quite a few people, Shikamaru. There are some people, as you should know, that should not have their hands on this information," Shikaku replied, eyeing his son carefully. Shikamaru's body was relatively lax against the wall. He didn't look like he was prepared to spring into action. That probably meant that Shikamaru didn't consider him a threat, but for what reason did he assume that?

"Indeed because knowledge is power. Knowledge in the wrong hands could lead to... troublesome things. I'm surprised that you didn't protect that any better than you did. Think of me as being the test subject so you can better protect that bit of knowledge." Shikamaru smirked as he stared at his father. Shikaku's eyes bore back into him and neither Nara stood down. A minute passed before Shikaku leaned back and gave a loud laugh that echoed off the walls of the empty house.

"I am glad that you are on my side, Shikamaru." Shikaku pulled his hand out from under the desk and leaned on the arm of his chair. "Couldn't you have told me in a less troublesome way though?"

"It wouldn't have been as interesting if I did it that way." Shikamaru said with a raised eyebrow. A small smile spread across his face. "I'm glad that I won't have to face you quite yet. You would have been the only enemy that I am truly afraid of."

"Glad to know that you haven't gotten cocky yet." Shikaku lurched up from his chair and walked over to Shikamaru. The two men hugged before Shikaku pulled away. "Now it appears we have some talking to do."

"Yes, indeed we do."

-TSUME-

The straw dummy twisted to the side as the staff slammed into it. Tenten twirled the staff in her hands before striking again, sending a spray of straw out of the dummy. She grunted as she continued attacking the doll, venting out her frustrations. The sun glowed orange as it crawled back under the horizon. Tenten knew it was getting it late and it was probably a good time for her to head back home now, but something kept her there.

Maybe it was the desperation. Tenten heaved in rasping breaths as she leaned on the staff. Ever since she heard about the rebellion, a little voice whispered in her head telling her that she wasn't strong enough. If an entire rebel group had decided that Neji had to be killed, then there was no way she would be able to defeat them all right now. She_had_to avenge Neji, but she wasn't strong enough right now.

The air above her shoulder shifted, and Tenten instinctively whirled around and struck out at the newcomer. Gai snapped out a hand and caught the staff. Tenten started before loosening her hold on the staff. "Sorry, Gai-sensei. I should have been more careful." Gai let go of the wooden staff, and Tenten let it rest at her side. She shook her head vigorously to clear her mind before she asked, "What are you doing here?"

"I was looking for you, Tenten-chan. It's getting late." Gai put a hand on Tenten's shoulder and looked at her seriously, "It's very youthful to train, but do not push yourself too far. You will not be up to your youthful self when you need it if you stretch yourself too far." Tenten knew that Gai was right. It just felt wrong though.

She wiped the sweat off her brow and hummed her acknowledgement. "All right, Gai-sensei. I'll try to take more breaks." It was a white lie. She would try to take more breaks, but that only meant she would take one or two more five minute breaks out of her multi-hour long regimen.

"Take care of yourself, Tenten-chan. Also, will you come with me for a moment? I did the... thing you asked me to." Tenten could see in the dimming light that Gai looked disconcerted with what he had done. She knew that it was probably a lot to ask him to do such a thing anyways, but she deeply appreciated it.

"Thank you, Gai-sensei. And lead the way." Gai nodded and shunshined away from the training grounds. Tenten gripped the staff in her hand before shooting after her sensei. They leaped from rooftop to rooftop as they made their way to Gai's dwelling. It was a simple apartment in the residential district. Not many ninja lived inside of the building since Gai was infamous for his loudness at times.

Gai dropped onto the balcony with Tenten arriving a few seconds after him. Gai slid open the screen and stepped into the room. The green jumpsuits that were littered around the room were quickly swept away as Gai stuffed them back into his closet. He waved for Tenten to follow him into the adjoining room where a small table stood. On top of the light table was a small tape recorder. Tenten assumed that the tape contained the information that she had set out to get.

Gai closed the shutters and walked over towards the table. He pulled on a small string and the light flickered on. He pulled out a chair and sat down and motioned for Tenten to do the same. "I recorded this last night and I thought you might want to hear it." Gai tapped the buttons on the machine and the recorder whirred. Gai waited a few moments before hitting the play button just before the end of the tape.

A crackling sound was heard as the recorder began playing. The sound of wood scratching on the ground was heard and Tenten leaned forward. "I see you took your time in arriving." That was Hiashi's voice! Tenten bit her lip tightly at the thought of the man. She stopped herself from glaring at the recording and eagerly listened for what they would say next.

"I had to check on something first." A grumbling voice said. The chair squeaked under the man's weight and Tenten scrunched her face up in confusion. Had she heard that man's voice before? It seemed familiar, but not that familiar. She looked over at Gai, and he lifted a hand up to his mouth. Tenten sighed before turning back to the tape. "The seating arrangement has already been completed. Here's a file detailing it."

The sound of riffling papers could be heard as Hiashi looked through the files. "I see. And you want men deployed to these positions? I will see about what can be done." A thump was heard, and Tenten jumped.

"Don't tell me about what might be done. Tell me about what will be done. You will put those men there. Don't lie to try and to make it seem as if you are doing something difficult. It should be easiest for you out of all people." The man scoffed.

"Hold your tongue. You might be high up, but don't forget your place. You still are not higher than me and you never will be." Hiashi snapped back in irritation. Tenten could hear the files being slammed down on the desk. A clinking sound was heard and her eyes widened. She could faintly hear Hiashi saying, "What is this?" His voice grew louder, and Tenten's stomach clenched. He had found the bug.

"A listening device, is it? Whoever is listening to this conversation, know that you_will_be found. Don't even think about running to the Hokage about this. You won't even have the chance to knock on the door before you find yourself dead." Hiashi's voice cut off as a loud buzz was heard, signaling that the bug was destroyed.

Gai leaned forward and tapped the stop button the player and looked over to Tenten. "These are dangerous waters you're entering, Tenten-chan."

Tenten stared at the recording, her mind a whirl of thoughts. What was she going to do now?

-TSUME-

"The great toad sage, Jiraiya. It's a pleasure to finally meet you. My name is Hayama Shirakumo." Shirakumo inclined his head slightly towards the white haired man. Jiraiya detected a hint of sarcasm in Shirakumo's voice, but tried to ignore it.

"It's nice to meet you too. I assume Hiruzen-sensei already told you about why I am here?" Jiraiya asked lightly. His mind was quickly processing all the information he knew about Shirakumo. The man was obviously a wind affinity. Jiraiya assumed he used jutsu that required his two longest fingers because of the small scars around the adjoining fingers. There wasn't any other affinity that would cause scars that looked like that.

There was a slight favoritism towards the right leg which led Jiraiya to believe that Shirakumo had an injury of some sort on the left limb. It was well concealed though. It was only fitting since he was a jounin after all. Shirakumo crossed his arms over his chest and looked back at the inquisitive spy master. Shirakumo didn't like him much. He seemed too curious, and it was curiosity that killed the cat. "Yes, he did. Do you want to check the seal first? I don't want to waste your time."

Jiraiya laughed jollily before saying, "No, no. I'll watch for a bit. I need to see how he responds to using chakra. Training will be just perfect for that. You have no problem with that arrangement, do you?" Jiraiya placed a hand on Shirakumo's shoulder and noticed how the man shifted uncomfortably under it. "Do you?"

"Of course not," Shirakumo replied quickly, brushing off Jiraiya's hands. "Just refrain from interfering if you can. I need to train Naruto-san for the chuunin exam finals and distractions are unwelcome right now." Jiraiya nodded and stepped away from the younger man. Jiraiya quickly made a mental note to learn more about this 'Hayama Shirakumo'. Naruto needed to be watched over carefully, and there was no way Jiraiya would let an unknown character handle him.

The air was cold between them as they waited for Naruto to arrive. A few minutes later, the blonde appeared. Naruto sprinted down the dirt path as he rushed to where the two men were standing. He skidded to a stop in front of the pair and gave a mock salute. "Sorry I'm late, Shirakumo-sensei!" Jiraiya noticed that Naruto didn't even look winded as he brushed off the dust that had accumulated on his clothes. As Naruto bent over, Jiraiya let a sad smile cross his face. Naruto really did look like his parents.

As soon as Naruto stood up again, the sadness in his face disappeared, and Jiraiya gave a warm smile. "Hey, kiddo. My name is Jiraiya, the great toad sage! I'm here to watch you as you train, and then I'll talk to you a bit about some ways to improve. You should be honored to get my help, kiddo!"

Naruto twitched in annoyance. "My name isn't kiddo. It's Uzumaki Naruto, so say it right!" He stamped his foot in annoyance. In his rage, he missed the way Jiraiya started as he stomped his foot.

Something in Jiraiya's chest clenched. The way Naruto acted was so like Kushina. He could remember how Kushina always used to stomp her foot whenever Minato acted like an idiot as if it were yesterday. "Right, right. Whatever you say, kiddo." Naruto groaned and turned towards Shirakumo.

"Why is he here anyways?" He pointed an accusing finger at Jiraiya who whistled innocently. Shirakumo rubbed his forehead. The sage's mere presence was enough to distract the boy. He only hoped that Naruto could get it under control soon.

"He's here to watch you, Naruto-san. Jiraiya-san may also want to talk to you after we finish our training, but do not let him distract you. I need you to keep your focus during our training. I am going to teach you a new jutsu called the**Futon: Daitoppa**," Shirakumo said. "Come with me, and I'll demonstrate it for you."

"Yes, sir!" Naruto nodded and ran after Shirakumo as his sensei walked away towards the center of the field.

-TSUME-

The wind blew his white hair as he stood atop the red shingled rooftop. Kakashi watched from above as Naruto watched Shirakumo with absorbed interest. A part of him felt conflicted. He loathed the blonde demon for taking a form so similar to his beloved sensei, but... His eyes drifted over to where his two male genin were squabbling in the nearby training field. He had to admit that the demon boy had a much more preferable temperament in comparison to his own genin.

Watching Naruto during the games had made him wonder. Was Naruto really a demon? His own genin seemed more demon-like than the Uzumaki. Kakashi crouched down on the rooftop and flicked through hand signals. A moment later, a brown pug appeared in a puff of white smoke. The small dog saluted at Kakashi in his ninja uniform and glanced around the rooftops. "What do you need, Kakashi?" Pakkun asked.

"Someone to talk to. Sit down." Pakkun sat down beside Kakashi and watched the genin scattered about the various training grounds.

"They're really something, aren't they? You used to be energetic like that one over there." Kakashi raised a brow and followed the direction of Pakkun's paw. The pug was pointing past Kakashi's own genin and towards Naruto who was furiously trying to create the**Futon: Daitoppa**, but was clearly failing. Kakashi sighed.

"I did, didn't I? If only it was possible to be that way now." Kakashi remembered his own genin days when Minato, Rin, and Obito were still alive. Things had been very different back then. The sound of his brawling genin faded away as he watched the blonde genin training. If only Naruto had been someone else, then maybe the two of them could have gotten along. Kakashi looked away from Naruto. Whenever the boy turned towards the building, all Kakashi could see was Minato's face. Seeing a face like that... It reminded him too much of what he had lost. It was a silly reason to loathe the boy, but a reason it was.

"You can head back now, Pakkun. It has been 59 minutes since I told them to arrive. I need to keep on schedule you know." Kakashi smiled slightly underneath his mask, causing his summon to shake his head.

"I'll never understand why you're so obstinate in arriving exactly an hour late all the time," Pakkun said before disappearing.

As the summon vanished, Kakashi sighed and whispered, "That's for only me to know." He looked back towards his genin and shunshined towards them, landing just before them. Kakashi caught Kiba's fist as it was flying towards Sasuke and sent a kick at the Uchiha that was running towards Kiba with a kunai extended. "And for what reason do I have the honor of breaking you two apart?_Again_." Kakashi's voice dropped and the two genin flinched slightly. Kiba was the first to regain himself.

"It's all that jerk's fault! He nearly killed Akamaru in the exams!" Kiba yelled angrily, baring his teeth at Sasuke. The black haired boy rolled his eyes and got up from the ground. He brushed himself off daintily before smirking at Kiba.

"You're being such a little girl. What's next? Are you going to break down and cry when I tell you that I don't care? You're so much like that little pink weakling." Sasuke sneered as Kiba tried to pull himself out of Kakashi's grip.

"You'll pay for that, Uchiha! No one hurts Akamaru and gets away with it!" Kakashi gripped Kiba's hand tightly and pulled him into a neck hold. A dull pounding started in his head. Kakashi just knew by the end of the day he would have yet another headache. These headaches really were putting a damper on his mood. He hadn't even been able to reach Icha Icha for a few months because he felt ill whenever he looked at printed text. Kakashi felt willing to do anything that could get him a different batch of genin. If only Sasuke didn't have the sharingan, then Kakashi wouldn't be stuck with the pretentious brat.

"Well, this is unexpected." A feminine voice drawled. Kei held her leather notebook to her chest as she walked up to where the three ninja were clustered. "I have to admit; I thought ninja were supposed to have control over their emotions. It looks like secretive is no longer part of ninja's definition."

Sasuke growled at the new arrival and snapped, "Get out of here. You're just interrupting our training. I'm sure you don't know what that looks like. Girls like you should just pick up and go home!" Sasuke hated being made fun of. He hated being made fun of by weaklings even more.

"Calm down, Uchiha-san. Shimuzu-san is under my tutelage with regards to affinity training. I'll give her a lesson now and be right back." Kakashi dropped Kiba to the ground, causing the boy to cough for air. Maybe he had been holding the boy a little too high up.

"Che. I don't need your help anyways. I'm just fighting against more genin anyways." Sasuke kicked the ground violently before storming across the field. Kakashi rubbed his forehead, trying to calm himself. If he got irritated, then it would only make his headache worse than it already was.

"I'll deal with him in a bit." Kakashi said as he fumbled in the pack at his side. He withdrew a small scroll before tossing it to Kei. She swiped for the scroll and messily caught it in her arms. Kei sent a chilling glare at Kakashi. "All the instructions are in there.**Shujutsu: Suishu no Jutsu**isn't particularly easy to learn, but I'm sure you'll get the hang of it. I'll check back on you in an hour or two." Kakashi looked over to Sasuke who was storming away into the trees. "I need to make sure he doesn't get lost."

"Ah." Kei glanced over towards the proud heir and said, "I think I understand." She brushed her hair out of her face before sitting down on the ground to read the scroll. Kakashi nodded towards Kei and Kiba before shunshining after Sasuke. The girl was a brat in more ways than one, but there was at least one thing she had over Sasuke. She didn't have a violent hatred of sitting in one spot.

-TSUME-

"Dull." Anko bit the dango off of the stick before throwing it at the innocent tree. The stick embedded into the wood beside the dozen other sticks that had suffered the same fate. "Boring." Another stick. Anko reached down to the box beside her for another dango stick, but felt nothing. Anko groaned and whacked her head back against the tree. "Where are they anyways? I've been here for nearly five minutes already!"

"Five minutes isn't that long you know." Anko jolted forward at the sudden voice. She looked around wildly before slamming her palm into her forehead.

"How could I have missed such an obvious thing," Anko groaned. "I knew that this training field only had one tree." Yamato stepped out from behind the tree that bore a startling resemblance to a porcupine. His face was empty as he walked over to where Anko way. The purple haired jounin stood up from her place on the ground and crossed her arms. "It's you, huh? Why did I get stuck with the boring one anyways? There are so many more interesting people, but I got you."

Yamato raised eye brow before commenting, "I prefer the term 'effective'. If that is boring to you, then so be it."

Anko grunted. "Your brain must be boxed in by that headband of yours. You have no sense of humor or creativity." Anko picked up the empty dango box and flipped the lid closed. "So, I assume you want to meet the little girlie, right?"

Yamato nodded silently. Anko twitched an eyebrow in annoyance. She told herself to calm down. If she didn't get a grip now, the next few weeks would be hell. "Follow me then." Her voice was noticeably strained as she moved to leave the training ground.

"You forgot something." Anko looked back over her shoulder at Yamato irritably. The ANBU ninja was pointing at the tree with dango spines. Anko inwardly cursed and stomped back towards the tree. She violently yanked the sticks out and dropped them back in the box.

"Are you happy now?" She growled.

"Very much so. Continue," Yamato replied.

Anko took in a calming breath. She turned away from the grounds and shunshined away to the rooftops. Yamato pursued her, and the two made their way across the roofs. The journey back to Anko's apartment was silent. Neither ninja really wanted to talk to the other. If there was one thing they could agree on, it would be that neither of them could wait for this mission to be over so they would never need to talk to each other again.

Anko suddenly swerved from her path and dropped down in front of her apartment building. Yamato diverted his course to land beside her, and Anko clicked her tongue. "I was hoping I would throw you off. How annoying." She opened the small door and headed into the building. After navigating down a few halls, she stopped at one of the end rooms. Anko fished a key out from her pocket and stuck it in the door.

The lock opened with a click, and the pair walked into the room. Anko locked the door behind them and motioned for Yamato to follow her. She slipped through the doorway and over towards a small bed. Yamato took the time to look around the building. The room was covered in sprawling graffiti. Various pictures were pinned to the wall and were covered with dango sticks. Yamato couldn't even tell who the faces belonged to anymore. Beside the pictures were various angry doodles of dead stick figures and profanities. Yamato frowned slightly. It was so... unprofessional.

"Yo, girlie. Wake up. Someone is here to see ya." Anko shook Sakura's shoulder, and it was only then that Yamato noticed the girl on the bed. Sakura had curled up into a ball, making it very hard for Anko to get a grip on her.

"Huh?" Sakura mumbled as she slowly woke up. She sat up after a few moments and rubbed her eyes. "What is it, Mitarashi-san?"

"Call me Anko. Mitarashi-san sounds old. Remember how the old man, er... Hokage, said that one of his men would be coming to help you out? He's here." Anko slung an arm around Yamato's shoulder and dragged him over to the bed, knowing that it would be too awkward if Yamato stood at a distance as if Sakura were the plague.

"I'm Yamato. I'm here to help you with the voices that are in your mind." Anko cringed. Yamato was being too blunt! Couldn't he be at all welcoming?

"How can you do that? No one else seemed to be able to help me," Sakura said sadly. Anko wanted to punch Yamato. Couldn't they have gotten through an entire introduction without making the pinkette depressed again?

"I've had a lot of training with... closing out voices." Yamato said blandly. The image of Danzo briefly crossed his mind, but he quickly cleared it away. He had to be focused on the mission. That was all that mattered at the moment. "Just know that I will be able to help you, definitely."

* * *

**Author's Note: Team Tsume just passed 100,000 hits! I'm so excited that the story had gotten so far! ^^ I'm so happy that the story has been clicked on so many times! I hope you enjoy all of the future chapters as well!**

**Thanks Pokepikachu1 for betaing me again!**


	34. The Pain Lessens

"It has been said, 'time heals all wounds.' I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens. But it is never gone."  
**-Rose Kennedy**

Chapter 33: The Pain Lessens

"**Shujutsu: Suishu no Jutsu**!" Kei looked down at her hands warily. They glowed a slight blue after she cast the jutsu. Kei looked over to the side to reread the scroll that Kakashi had given her. "Am I really doing this right?" She mumbled under her breath as she scanned the scroll. The formerly white parchment was now browning at the sides from when she had touched the scroll with the jutsu active. Apparently, stealing water from scrolls made them more brittle and prone to falling apart.

The jutsu was quite easy to use. It didn't require much energy either. It did, on the other hand, require an insane amount of control. She had found out after the first few tries that while the jutsu did funnel water from other objects or people into her, accidentally touching herself made her a bit sick. It was probably the same effect as when people got flushed with fluids too quickly in hospitals.

Kei gingerly rolled the scroll a bit farther open with her foot. She wondered if there was any way to prevent her hands from glowing so much. It was kind of obvious that she had done something with her hands while they were like this. Kei's attention wandered and she rested her hands on the ground. She cursed as she started absorbing water from the ground, and hurriedly deactivated the jutsu. "Dang it. How am I going to explain this?" Kei looked around the once green field. Brown patches of grass dotted the field where she had accidentally touched the ground with the jutsu active. She had been forced to move around the field constantly to reach normal ground, and it appeared she'd have to be on the move again.

Kei rubbed her forehead in annoyance. She had been visiting the field for the past three weeks since she got the scroll from Kakashi. She had improved in using the jutsu, but that didn't mean she was satisfied. Control heavy jutsu were her specialty, and the**Shujutsu: Suishu no Jutsu**was exactly that. Unfortunately, the jutsu also required her to be close enough to her target to actually touch them. Kei didn't enjoy close combat fighting at all.

Kei sighed and picked up her notebook. She flipped towards the beginning of the book. That was where she had kept her notes about team formations. Her finger traced the line where it said_Kei: Combatant_. Kei grimaced. She was improving, but she still hated having to fulfill that role.

"I thought you would be doing a little more practicing and a little less loafing considering the exams begin again in only two days." Kei snapped her notebook shut and looked up at the man looming over her shoulder.

"I have been practicing. You've just arrived at an inopportune time," Kei replied shortly. "It's not as if you've given me much training or anything, Kakashi-sensei." Kakashi appeared to smile behind his mask as he crouched down beside Kei.

"Kids don't respect their teachers anymore," Kakashi lamented. He picked some of the browned grass around Kei and snickered. "When I gave you that scroll, I expected you to be fighting people with it, not grass."

Kei twitched. "It would be easier if you gave me something to respect, and you know that I wasn't attacking the grass. Anyways, it's not as if I can walk around sapping water out of people. Maybe I should use it on you as practice instead."

"Short temper. You had better fix that," Kakashi said, tousling Kei's hair. The girl swatted Kakashi's hand away and glared venomously. Kei stopped as Kakashi straightened himself and stared off down the road leading to the training grounds. She followed his trail of vision and saw a messenger hawk flying swiftly along the ground. The brown and black speckled bird swooped up as it neared the two, and then landed on Kakashi's outstretched arm.

Kakashi stroked the hawk gently and pulled the scrap of string that was wrapped around the hawk's leg. The string loosened and both it and the small scroll fell from the hawk's leg. "You have your ninja padding on, right? Take him for me." Kakashi held the hawk out towards Kei expectantly who stood dumbstruck. A few moments later, she gingerly held out her arm and the hawk hopped on.

Kakashi took the chance to read the small scroll. After a few minutes he closed it and stuck it back in his pocket. He put two fingers out and let the hawk climb back onto him before throwing the bird back into the air. As the bird flew away, Kakashi sighed. It looked like Sasuke would provide him with even more trouble now.

-TSUME-

"**Futon: Daitoppa**!" Naruto flipped through the seals before blowing out of his mouth. Shirakumo stood in front of him with his eyebrow raised. He hadn't even felt a little flickered of a breeze yet. Shirakumo sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"We'll stop for now, Naruto-san." Naruto sighed gloomily and sat down on the ground. "You're still struggling with the timing. The Futon requires you to blow within the second interval after you finish signing through the jutsu. All you are doing right now is expending the chakra without getting anything out of it." Shirakumo explained. "Luckily, you'll probably do better in an actual battle. The adrenaline will help you move quicker, but that doesn't mean you should slack off. We'll practice again tomorrow."

"Yes, Shirakumo-sensei," Naruto replied glumly. They had been practicing for well over two weeks already, and he just couldn't get it right. First, he used too much chakra. Shirakumo figured that out quickly because his lips had started glowing blue from all the chakra that had been pumped into them. Now, he took too long inhaling before blowing out the jutsu. It was such a nuisance.

"You're getting closer though, kiddo!" Jiraiya said cheerily walking up to the two. He had been watching from the sidelines again. Over the past few weeks he had been carefully monitoring Naruto's chakra expenditure and chakra levels. There had been no abnormal fluctuation in chakra capacity, but Naruto did tend to let out bursts of dispersed chakra when he was frustrated. Just looking at Naruto now, Jiraiya could see tiny waves of chakra coming out of Naruto.

It was a sign of seal deterioration, but Jiraiya had also been unable to monitor how Naruto was when he was younger. There was no baseline for Naruto's chakra usage which made it much more difficult for him.

"Leave me alone, old man! Geez. What are you still doing here anyways?" Naruto crossed his arms and glowered at Jiraiya who grinned back at him.

"I have a mission to complete here, Naruto-san. Come on, get over here." Jiraiya gestured for Naruto to come over and the younger boy sighed. This had become a ritual in the past few weeks. Whenever Naruto finished practice, Jiraiya would check his seal. Naruto didn't know how Jiraiya knew about the seal, but he assumed that the Hokage had told him about it. Shirakumo didn't seem to have a problem with Jiraiya checking his seal, so it had to be okay.

Naruto got up from the ground and walked over to Jiraiya. He crinkled up his shirt, and Jiraiya reached out with his chakra to reveal the complex seal on his stomach. The seal had grown over time to appear less and less like an inked in seal and more like a scar. The Eight Trigrams Seal had browned out more over time, something that worried Jiraiya. It was very possible that the Kyuubi was weakening the seal and causing the discoloration. The seal had originally been imprinted on Naruto when he was a child, and it wasn't as if a seal expanded as its owner grew. There were multiple reasons for sealing a tailed beast inside of an adult after all.

There was one part of the seal that confused him though. Jiraiya looked at the bottom half of the seal where one of the lines was strangely flat at the end. It almost looked as if someone had snapped off the end of the seal. "That's all I need, Naruto-san." Jiraiya withdrew his chakra and stood up, brushing off his knees.

Jiraiya wanted to trust Naruto, but he wasn't even close to reassured about Naruto's condition. There were too many signs. There were too many signs that Naruto could have already had contact with the Kyuubi.

-TSUME-

With the chuunin exams coming so quickly, Team Tsume had been unable to meet since the time just before Neji's death. That was why when each genin woke up with a note beside their beds that told them to come to the T&I department at noon, none of them were surprised. Kei was the first to arrive, being the only one who actually knew where T&I was. She was followed by Naruto and eventually, Shikamaru.

Inoichi stood at the doorway, waiting for all of them to arrive. Once they had all gathered together, Inoichi led them through the dimly hallways. Kei was mentally mapping out the division to draw out later since she had never actually been_inside_the division before. When Shikamaru asked why the hallways were so dark, Inoichi replied, "It's supposed to look intimidating when we escort people through here. It wouldn't be nearly as scary if we had yellow and blue walls and brightly lit hallways, would it?"

Inoichi twisted open one of the doors and allowed the three genin inside before locking the door behind them. "I've already gone over the room for bugs and this room is soundproof, so you don't have to worry about being overheard." The room was simple. Stone walls surrounded them, and there was only a simple wooden table and four stools to fill the room. They all took seats at the table and quietly looked at one another. Shikamaru was the first to begin speaking.

"I found out something interesting a little bit ago. My father already knows about all of this." Shikamaru waved his arm around the room. "And then a bit more." It took a few moments for the information to sink in before the chaos broke out.

"What do you mean your father already knows about the rebellion?" Naruto exclaimed, slamming his hands on the table. "Wasn't it supposed to be a secret? Is he on our side?"

"Obviously, he is. Otherwise Shikamaru-kun wouldn't be here to talk to us," Inoichi said with a groan. He rubbed his forehead and asked, "How much does he already know? It's good that he's with us, I guess, but it is sort of annoying."

"He knows that there is a sizable force moving against the Hokage. He has a few names down for councilmembers that he suspects are on the other side and a couple that are confirmed." Shikamaru fished around in one of his pant pockets before pulling out a crumpled note. "I told him I was visiting you this afternoon, so he told me to give you this." Shikamaru handed the note over to Inoichi who skimmed it over before putting it in his pocket.

"Tell your father that I said thanks." Inoichi shook his head in exasperation. He and Shikaku may have been childhood friends, but he would never be able to read the man. He was just too confusing. There were too many layers to his mind, and Inoichi knew he would never be able to truly grasp everything that Shikaku knew. There would always be a few things that Inoichi would never know. "Is there anything else you wish to tell us, Shikamaru-kun?"

"Not really. I've been walking around the village more than training, but I haven't picked up too much that my dad didn't notice. He pretty much made my work redundant. How troublesome," Shikamaru grumbled. He laid his head down on the table and gave a sigh.

Inoichi looked around the table before saying, "Kei-chan, how about you go next?"

Kei stared at the notebook she had rested on the table. She had spent the last few weeks wondering if she should tell anyone about this and had only decided this morning that she would talk about it. "I'm worried about Ino-san, Inoichi-sensei. She shows signs of having more than the required five symptoms for being labeled with Borderline Personality Disorder. I-I've confirmed their appearance multiple times already. It's not that I'm accusing you of causing it or anything, but..."

Kei bit her lip. "It could have something do with the pressure caused by the rebellion. It is a long shot, but I'd prefer that Ino-san not be around for when the rebellion happens. She's in the finals, but I don't think it's safe for her." Kei's golden eyes flicked away from Inoichi as an intense guilt set in. She wouldn't have felt this way if she was telling any other mentor, but this was Inoichi's daughter. It just felt wrong telling him that something could be wrong with her.

Inoichi smiled weakly and said, "I've noticed that something is wrong with Ino as well. I'd like to pretend that she has just been growing up, but I'm afraid I can't let my relationship with Ino blind me. I'll try to do something about it in the next few days." Inoichi nodded and looked at his hands. Tsume could all tell that Inoichi looked painfully tired. There were bags under his eyes and his eyes didn't have the spark that they normally had. Inoichi put a hand to the side of his head and shook it. He took in a deep breath before saying, "Is there anything else you wanted to let us know about, Kei-chan?"

"Nothing important. I've started practicing more fuuinjutsu in my spare time. I'm stalling my medical ninjutsu training until after the exams. I know that it's important considering what will happen in the next few days, but I really won't learn enough in the time frame to make it worth it." Kei didn't talk about why she was researching fuuinjutsu. That would be something that she would keep to herself for now. She didn't want to talk to anyone about it until she was ready anyways.

Naruto looked at the other people around the table and tried to give a happy smile. The atmosphere in the room was so depressing. He couldn't help but feel a little bit worn out as well. "I guess I'm last then! Gai-sensei and Tenten-chan talked to me about a week ago. They went ahead with planting a bug in Hyuuga-san's office. They got some good intel before the bug was destroyed thought."

"Wait," Shikamaru cut in. "The bug was found? They know that we're onto them? Naruto-san! Why didn't you tell us that earlier? What if they've changed their plans since they know we're listening?" Shikamaru lifted his head from the table before promptly dropping it into his hands.

"I doubt they'll have done that. They have too much invested into this plan, right? And if they have partners in the other villages, they won't be able to reschedule. The exams don't happen in Konoha again for a while, so it has to be now," Naruto explained.

Inoichi's mouth twitched up. Naruto's reasoning skills had improved by leaps and bounds during the few months that Inoichi had taught Tsume. Even with everything happening all at once, Inoichi was incredibly proud of Naruto and his ability to withstand the pressure.

"I suppose that makes sense. It's going to make our job more dangerous though," Shikamaru grumbled. "How troublesome."

"Just before the bug was found, Tenten-chan told me that they heard Hyuuga-san talking to another male. Apparently, the guy sounded really old. They were talking about the seating arrangements in the Kage box, so it had to be someone high up in the Hokage's inner circle. Plus, the guy even ordered Hyuuga-san around." Naruto nodded solemnly. "They weren't able to identify the man's voice though because the sound quality wasn't that great."

Inoichi hummed in thought. "There aren't very many people who would have the guts to insult Hyuuga Hiashi. And if the man had the authority to know about the seating arrangements in the Kage box, it would limit the possibilities of who was talking. Have you heard of Mitokado Homura before?"

"I have. He's a part of the Konoha Council, is he not?" Kei commented, flipping open her notebook. "He's been growing restless lately, and sources claim that he has been visiting the clan heads more often than usual. He has claimed that it is to work on the City Council issues though, so it's hard to tell whether or not he's lying." Kei read off the pages before looking up at the other three. "He's a definite possibility since he does have the power and the opportunity to get the information necessary for the rebellion."

"Morino Ibiki is also a possibility," Shikamaru drawled. All heads turned to Shikamaru in surprise.

"Why do you think that, Shikamaru-kun?" Inoichi asked curiously.

"Morino-san gave an extra-credit question at the bottom of the first section of the exam. I solved it, and he reacted oddly to it. I think it was some sort of code, possibly to register genin that were part of the revolution. He said he would contact me, but he never did. He might have found out that I wasn't a part of the rebellion after all and tried to drop me. It's worth considering though. As the head of Torture and Interrogation, he would have the clout needed to get the information," Shikamaru explained with a shrug.

Inoichi looked at the door. If Ibiki really was suspicious, was it a good idea to have their meeting in the T&I headquarters? Inoichi figured that it would be safer than most other places, but he supposed nowhere was really safe now. Not even his own home was safe if their suspicions about Ino proved to be true. "We should be careful about where we meet from now on then," Inoichi said calmly.

"We can't do anything but speculate about who the man in the recording is, but we should be careful around those people. The exam will happen in a few days, so we don't have much time left. I'll report to the Hokage on our findings, and hopefully we'll be able to change the seating arrangements in the box. It can't be good if they know where everyone is sitting." Inoichi stood up from his stool, and the others did the same.

"I'd also advise for you all to be on guard for Orochimaru-san. There hasn't been any sign of him since the second part of the exams, which means he is still out there. He might try to strike during the rebellion while everything is in chaos or he might be a part of it. We don't know, but I just want to let you all know anyways." The trio nodded. This was really going to be it. This was the climax. The entire purpose for their team being formed was going to be played out in the next few days. Now all they could do was wait.

* * *

**Author's Note: The chuunin exams are restarting again in the next chapter! -cheers- I know it has been a long interlude, but it was also an important one. The rebellion itself will probably happen in two or three chapters from now. I've been sprinkling hints as to the members of the rebellion, so I'm curious to see what you all think. Which ninja do you think are a part of the rebellion and which shinobi nations do you think support them?**

**Thanks to Pokepikachu1 for betaing me despite the fact that I turned it in late... Again... We should really reconsider my turn in day for this story. I'm always late by a day anyways. -sweatdrop-**


	35. Apt to Sneer

The most insignificant people are the most apt to sneer at others. They are safe from reprisals. And have no hope of rising in their own self esteem but by lowering their neighbors.  
**-William Hazlitt**

Chapter 34: Apt to Sneer

"You don't look good at all, Kei-chan. Is something wrong?" Naruto asked. It was true; Kei looked awful. Her eyes were bloodshot and there were dark bags around her eyes. Her hair was messily pulled back into a ponytail, but it seemed as if she hadn't cared for herself in days.

"I'm fine, Naruto-san," Kei said tiredly. Naruto was unconvinced. Kei's yawn a few seconds later didn't reassure him a bit. "I was just working on something for you." Kei looked over towards Shikamaru and threw her notebook at him. "Can you just tell him for me? I need to sit down somewhere. I feel sick." Shikamaru caught the bright orange notebook and opened it. It was different from her normal notebook. It was filled with notes on fuuinjutsu and Naruto. It had Naruto's current body mass, chakra levels, and jutsu repertoire. Shikamaru skeptically looked up at Kei as she went to drop herself down onto one of Naruto's chairs. He hoped she didn't have a notebook like this on him, but somehow, he bet she did.

"It looks like I've been saddled with this. How troublesome." Shikamaru sighed and flipped through the notebook until he reached a page filled with instructions. Half the page was written in a cipher and the other half was written in legible script with the note "Shikamaru, read this:" above it. The fact that she had planned on forcing him to read this ahead of time annoyed him slightly.

"What were you working on? Shikamaru-kun, do you know what she is talking about?" Naruto looked from Kei to Shikamaru curiously. Ever since the two had arrived at his house, Kei and Shikamaru had been looking conspicuously at each other. Naruto wondered if they had prepared some sort of death weapon to use on him or something. He couldn't really think of much else to make them feel guilty like that.

"Remember at our last meeting when Kei said she was working on fuuinjutsu?" Naruto nodded. "She was really working on a seal to help you, Naruto-san. The reason why we haven't seen her for a while is because she has been in the library working on a seal non-stop." Shikamaru flipped the book out so Naruto could see the seal diagram.

Naruto stopped himself from paling. Could they be trying to seal away his connection to the Kyuubi? It wasn't that he liked the Kyuubi or anything, but he sort of appreciated the guy when things got rough. Naruto wasn't sure that he wanted a seal that would completely sever his connection. "What does it do?" Naruto kept his voice level, feigning calmness.

Shikamaru looked at the notebook before raising an eyebrow. "Kei-san, can you explain how it functions?" The words on the page got rapidly more confusing as he read them. He knew that Naruto wouldn't understand a word if he read what was on the page.

Kei grumbled from the table and grumbled out, "It prevents your medial temporal lobe from being tampered with. The lobe is vital for your long term memory. If the Kyuubi is in your mindscape, he should have the ability to edit your memories. This is just to prevent that from happening."

Naruto concealed a frown. He didn't like the thought of the Kyuubi editing his memories, but he also didn't know whether or not the seal would damage his connection with the Kyuubi. "It should only take a few minutes to put the seal on since it's just an addition to your existing seal. Are you okay with that, Naruto-san?"

Naruto stalled. He knew it would look suspicious if he rejected the seal, but he also didn't want it. "That's fine. It sounds great, Kei-chan! Thanks for working so hard on it!" He groaned internally. Why couldn't he be a better liar?

-TSUME-

"So? What do you want anyways?" Sasuke bit out, crossing his arms in annoyance. He didn't know why Kakashi had invited him out the day before the exams. He had stuff to do that didn't involve wasting time with Kakashi. Kakashi had taught him only one good jutsu. The rest of the things Kakashi taught were unimportant and below Sasuke. Walking up trees? How stupid. There were more important things to learn. He had seen Kakashi give the maroon haired girl-the name wasn't of consequence, she would never go anywhere- a scroll containing a new jutsu.

Why was he wasting time on such pathetic genin when Sasuke was around? Kakashi hadn't spent enough time on his own genin, in Sasuke's opinion. Kakashi had been specially assigned to teach Sasuke because of the Sharingan, but Kakashi proved to be of little use. Sasuke found it was better to train on his own or, even better, aggravate Kiba and then activate the Sharingan for practice. At least it gave the dog boy some use.

"Don't do anything reckless in the exams, Uchiha-san. If anything feels weird or if something happens, you should pull out." Kakashi had his dogs following Sasuke around ever since he had received the cursed seal. After receiving a hawk from the Hokage detailing him about Sakura's case, he had to be even more careful around Sasuke. If Sakura was hearing voices in her head, Sasuke could be hearing the same thing. Kakashi didn't think Sasuke would have the control necessary to prevent himself from following what the voices told him.

"Is that all? You don't have to worry about me, Kakashi-sensei. It's not something that **I** have to worry about." Sasuke sniggered. "You should just go find someone that you actually have to teach. So far, you've just been useless to me." Sasuke turned away from Kakashi, about to walk down the hall. Kakashi growled lowly and tugged on Sasuke's arm, yanking him back over. Kakashi used his right arm and grabbed Sasuke by the throat and slammed him into the wall.

"Listen here, Uchiha-san. You are under _my_ authority while you are my student. You _will_ listen to what I say. Forget about your little delusions of grandeur and face the real world. Not everyone will allow you to trample on them like ants. Unless you realize that, you will die and no one will mourn for you." Kakashi's eyes pierced into Sasuke's, making the younger boy tremble. "You will tell me if anything strange happens in the exams. Am I understood?"

Sasuke nodded hurriedly, his hands trying to pry away Kakashi's tight grip. Kakashi released his grip suddenly, causing Sasuke to drop to the ground. Sasuke gagged as air rushed back into his lungs. He felt around his neck where the bright red lines from Kakashi's hand still remained. Sasuke grunted and looked away from Kakashi as the older man ran a hand through his hair.

"Don't get me wrong, Uchiha-san. I don't like to do this anymore than you do, but I am a ninja first and your babysitter second. If I need to threaten you to get you to obey orders, I will. You are the one that has done this to yourself. Unless you shape up, this will happen again. Keep that in mind, Uchiha-san." Sasuke snarled at Kakashi and picked himself up from the floor. He brushed himself off, trying to regain the scraps of pride that he had left.

"I don't take orders from anyone. I take recommendations and decide whether or not I follow them," Sasuke said snidely. "If that is all you wanted to talk about, I should go. I have exams to prepare for." Sasuke turned on his heels and stalked away, his hands balled tightly in his pockets. He would make Kakashi pay for that. No one made fun of the Uchiha heir and got away with it. Just a little bit longer and Sasuke would get his revenge.

-TSUME-

Naruto took in a deep breath before exhaling. He rolled his shoulders backwards and leaned his head from side to side. It was finally the big day. The exams had finally resumed, and if everything went as suspected, the rebels would make their move. Naruto had to be on top of his game if he was going to survive the day. He hoped that today wouldn't be the last time he saw the sun rise.

He looked down the hallway towards the opening to the arena. Hayate had told him that he had five more minutes before the first match was announced. Naruto cracked his knuckles. Lee would be his first opponent. Naruto felt a bit bad about the match. He didn't want to defeat Lee, especially since he had vowed to win for Neji, but he had to stay in the exams until the rebellion happened. If he lost before the rebellion happened, he would probably be confined to the hospital ward, and it would be difficult to respond quickly.

"For the first battle we have Uzumaki Naruto of Konohagakure against Rock Lee, also from Konohagakure!" Naruto shook his head. He had to concentrate. It would be disastrous if his attention wandered for even a moment. He strode confidently out into the arena, climbing up the steps into the elevated battlefield.

Trees surrounded him as he exited the hallway. A gate slammed shut behind him. The die had been cast. Lee stood across him on the other side of the arena. Lee was hopping from one foot to another. "Naruto-san! I am sorry, but you must lose today! I am filled with youthful spirit and purpose. I must win for Tenten-chan!"

Naruto smiled sadly and shook his head. "I only wish that I could allow you to win, Lee-san, but unfortunately..." Naruto's voice dropped. "I absolutely cannot lose." Hayate looked down at the two genin beneath him and raised his hand.

"The match will begin in three, two, one, begin!" Both genin were off like a shot. Lee flew at Naruto, punching at the blonde. Naruto swerved off to the side and drop kicked Lee. Lee rolled with the kick before shoving himself off the ground, running at Naruto again. Naruto frowned. Lee was just as good at taijutsu as Naruto had expected. Naruto had naturally been strong at taijutsu because of his inability to tire, but he just wasn't as fast as the green beast.

Naruto shunshined back into the treetops, deciding it was smarter to try a new strategy. **I can't believe you let the idiots put that seal on!** Naruto grunted. It was a bad time for the Kyuubi to start talking to him. **I can't talk to you most of the time, so you bet I'm going to use the chance, Naruto-brat. **Couldn't the Kyuubi talk to him after the match while he was still running off of adrenaline? Lee shot through the trees, causing Naruto to drop down onto the ground. **Step back!**

Naruto leaped backwards just as Lee came spiraling down from the treetops, smashing into the place where Naruto had just been. **Use the jutsu that the scar man taught you. You should be strong enough to deal some damage, and it will also help the fools believe that you aren't talking to me. **Naruto silently agreed and began to flip his way through the seal. Naruto heard a branch snap and he turned around and yelled, "**Fuuton: Daitoppa**!"

A cold chill ran its way up Naruto's throat as he breathed in and blew out. The wind shot out of his mouth, crashing into the trees where Lee was. Branches snapped as the air slammed into them, sending them careening through the undergrowth. Naruto faintly heard Lee yelp as the limbs came flying towards him. Naruto landed on the ground and pushed himself into the trees, searching for the sound of the voice.

That was when he spotted Lee lying on the ground. Lee noticed Naruto coming nearer and tried to move, but Naruto caught him against the ground. He twisted Lee's arms back and pinned him tightly to the ground. "Surrender, Lee-san. It's over."

Lee grunted and yelled back, "I won't surrender!" Tears pricked at the corners of Lee's eyes. Had he really lost?

Naruto's face clenched together before his eyes looked down to the ground. "Then I'm sorry, Lee-san." Naruto's hand snapped down towards Lee's neck, knocking the older boy unconscious. Lee slumped to the ground, and Hayate yelled out, "The winner of the match is Uzumaki Naruto!"

From up in the stands, Tenten's mouth opened slightly before closing again. She wanted to apologize to Lee, but she knew he couldn't hear her right now. She felt bad that Lee had fought so hard for her. Tenten just knew that Lee would be crushed when he woke up. He hated breaking promises. That was something Tenten liked about him. A hand rested on her shoulder, and she turned to see Gai standing on the step above her. "We should go, Tenten-chan. We're already late as it is."

Tenten nodded as the crowd cheered around them. They hurried up the staircase to the Hokage booth. Gai nodded at the ANBU standing outside the entrance to the box and headed into the spacious sitting area. They slipped past the Tsuchikage's chair and headed over to where the Hokage was. The seating arrangement had changed after the Hokage had heard about the tape call. Now the Hokage sat by the Kazekage and Oto's leader instead of Ame's soveriegn and ruler from Kusa.

"I still don't understand why you needed to change things around," hissed Oto' leader. "It's a nuisance for the rest of us, you know. I wasn't able to get all of my guards into the stands now that my booth allotment has changed. Why did my space have to shrink anyways? It's disgraceful." The man sniffed behind his veil. Killer intent seeped from him, causing the Hokage to smile meaningfully back.

"It wasn't for any real purpose, Leader-dono. We just thought it would be better to change the arrangement of the booth for security reasons. We have our own reasons for why we think the change is appropriate. Do not fret about it. I'm sure you of all people know how important secrecy is," Hiruzen said complacently, sending killer intent back towards Oto's sovereign. Hiruzen didn't like the man. Oto was too suspicious as a new country. Hiruzen doubted such a small country would attempt to back a rebellion, but Oto was definitely not a country Konoha would ally with in the future.

The man grunted and turned away from Hiruzen and back to the battle. "Do not disrespect my country just because we are new, Hokage-san," was all he said before falling silent. Hiruzen turned around to look at the arena again. His eyes were dark as he stared down at the field. His hand drifted down to his side. He snapped his fingers quietly. One of the masked ANBU beside him inclined his head, signaling that he had received the message.

Hiruzen pointed two fingers backwards towards the man behind him before rotating his hand in a small circle. He would have to make sure that Oto's was _protected_ very carefully.

-TSUME-

Sakura rubbed the curse seal on her neck. She rocked back and forth on her heels, trying to calm herself down. It was only a week ago that Anko and Yamato had told her that she would definitely be participating in the exams. She didn't think she was prepared or that she was _safe_ in the exams, but they assured her that she would be fine. They would be watching in the grandstands in case anything happened anyways.

Sakura heard the howling cheers from the arena and shivered. Soon, they would be cheering for her, or against her actually. She didn't quite know what they would be doing. She did hope that they would be loud though. It would make it easier on her that way. Sakura hummed loudly as she paced around the dirt hallway. She silently sang a song inside her mind just as Anko had told her to do. Yamato and Anko had deliberated on what to do with her for a while and had eventually settled on a few techniques. The first was singing.

If she sung loudly enough, she could block out some of the voices in her head. Another positive side effect was the fact that she had to consciously think about the song lyrics as she sung them. It helped divert her attention away from the voices and to another, happier, option. Sakura needed to distract herself right now. Whenever her attention wandered back towards her battle, she felt a chill run down her back.

Sakura was fighting Ino after all. She had seen the way that Ino had brutally beaten her first opponent. Ino hadn't wasted a second as she caught her opponent in a mind control jutsu and brought a kunai to his throat. It didn't even stop there. Sakura gulped and for a moment she was distracted from her song. There was no way she couldn't be distracted when she thought about what Ino did. Ino had sliced at the genin's throat and had jettisoned from the body just before the kunai sliced into his external carotid artery.

It had just been so awful. Sakura shuddered just remembering it. She was terrified that Ino would try the same thing with her. She hoped that Ino would go a bit softer on her since they had been childhood friends, but some part of her doubted it. "ARGH!" Sakura mussed up her hair and banged her head against the wall. She was scared, plain and simple. Why did she have to compete in these exams anyways? Could she just withdraw?

"Now for the next battle! We have Yamanaka Ino of Konohagakure against Haruno Sakura of Konohagakure!" Sakura twitched. That was her. She took in a deep breath before walking down the hallway. The light blinded her as she stepped upward into the field. As she stepped into the arena, a gate slammed behind her, sealing her inside of the arena. Sakura squeaked in surprise before wildly looking around the field.

A circle of trees surrounded the contestants. Branches filled the treetops, something Sakura was thankful for. At least she would be able to hide if things turned out badly. Sakura scuffed her foot on the ground. It was dry and dusty. "Hey Sakura-chan!" Sakura looked up from the ground to see Ino waving at her from across the field. "I'm glad to see that you made it so far! I'm really proud of you!" Ino clasped her hands behind her back and smiled warmly. A part of Sakura felt relieved. Maybe Ino would be a bit easier on her.

"But you know..." There was the infamous but. Sakura swallowed nervously. "You're my enemy now." Ino's face darkened and her smile stretched just a little bit too wide. "I wouldn't hesitate to kill you if the opportunity arises, Sakura-chan. This is supposed to be a realistic simulation after all. As long as I progress, that is all that matters for me." Ino's laugh rang out, cold and cruel. The cheers died down in the stands as Ino shook from laughter.

"This is really just a gimme battle for me, you know. You don't stand even the slightest chance against me, so why even try? You should just withdraw while you still can. You can do it, you know. A real ninja would surrender if the battle is already lost. But you... You're just being stupid and worthless." Ino shrugged her shoulder before saying casually, "But it's no skin off my back if you decide to get yourself killed. It would just be a waste of life."

Sakura shook in unadulterated terror. What was she doing in the arena? Ino was right, she'd definitely get herself killed! "Don't give up, Sakura-chan! She's just playing mind games with you! Haven't I tortured you enough to teach you not to worry about that!" Sakura was snapped out of her thoughts by a familiar voice. Sakura looked up into the stands to see Anko waving at her wildly. The purple-haired jounin grinned cockily as she realized that she had caught the pinkette's attention. "Go get 'em, girlie! I'm rooting for ya! Even Stoneface is cheering you on, so go do it!"

Sakura looked over to see Yamato wave listlessly at her. Sakura giggled. Poor Yamato had been bullied by Anko for the past month. Sakura almost felt sorry for him. "I'm not going to surrender, Ino-chan, but I wish you best of luck in the battle!" Sakura said as she bowed.

Ino scoffed. "I don't need luck. You're the one who needs a miracle here." From up in the stands, Hayate stood with his hand beside a timer.

"The match between Yamanka Ino and Haruno Sakura will begin in three, two, one, begin!" As the very last word left his mouth, both girls sprinted into the trees. Sakura crawled up into one of the trees and sat quietly in the bows, listening for any signs of Ino. A tree rustled to her right, and Sakura threw a kunai.

"Gotcha!" Ino's voice came from behind, causing Sakura to leap out of her tree and shunshin up into another one. "You can't hide from me, Sakura-chan! I know you too well! Your habits, your thoughts. They're all mine!" Sakura felt a pang of terror strike her. Did Ino really know what she was going to do? No, she couldn't. There was no way Ino could tell what jutsu she was going to use. This was just a mind game.

Sakura stretched out her hands. When she heard the sound of footsteps, Sakura called out, "**Doton: Doryuu Taiga**!" Ino yelped as the once dry ground turned to sludge and she slipped into the murk. Ino spat mud out of her mouth as she rose again to the surface. Sakura was already on the move. She threw two kunai at Ino, one with a paper bomb attached. Ino took a deep breath before diving under the mud. The paper bomb exploded in the air, sending mud flying out of the pit.

Ino leaped out of the hole and snagged Sakura by the arm. Ino twisted the arm and flung Sakura into a nearby tree, causing the girl to cry out in pain. Sakura dived out of the way as Ino flicked through the handsigns she needed for her mind switch jutsu. _You don't need to do this, you know. If you just let me help you, this would be so much easier._ "No!" Sakura yelled at the voice, not even bothering to lower her voice. _Oh come on, you brat. They have left you in here to die. And you heard what the blonde wench said. She'll kill you unless you surrender, but you won't surrender. I like that about you. But you need to be stronger, and strength is something I can give you. Just let me help you a little bit. Just a little. It will be all that you need. _

Sakura grunted as she broke through the branches. The voice was the last thing she needed right now. She couldn't concentrate. She couldn't even conjure up song lyrics in her mind to drive her attention away from the voice. It had clouded her mind already. _Wouldn't it be nice to see red? I know red is your favorite color. I'm sure Ino has a very nice shade of red in her. If you just let me help, you'll be able to see it. _"I told you, no!"

_JUST GIVE IN!_ The voice echoed inside of Sakura's head, driving her down to her knees. From the tree canopy, Ino quirked an eyebrow. She didn't expect Sakura to be quite so... easy to find? Normally stealth involved being quiet. But Ino wasn't about to complain. Ino dived down from the trees, dropping onto Sakura's back. Sakura screamed as the sudden weight crushed her, flattening her onto the ground. Ino smirked and put her foot on Sakura's neck, effectively silencing her. "This game is over." Ino looked upwards and yelled, "Call it!"

Hayate started before nodding. "The match goes to Yamanaka Ino of Konoha!" Ino clicked her tongue and got off Sakura.

"That was absolutely pathetic." Ino glared down at Sakura and snarled, "Don't be so useless next time. At least allow me some good practice." She crossed her arms and walked away. No matter how many times she won, it didn't feel right. She felt empty. There was a hunger inside of her that wasn't sated by that pathetic battle. Even the fight against the boy in the last round didn't make her feel any better. Why?

Ino stalked down the hallway, pushing past the medics that were hurrying towards Sakura. Once the hallway had emptied, Ino slammed her fist against the wall. What was wrong with her? Nothing felt right anymore. Ino gritted her teeth and hung her head. She hated being like this. She just felt... worthless. Nothing would ever be enough.

**Author's Note: I'm sorry I'm late! Forgive me! D: -insert excuses about holiday season in here- But really. I was busy. I baked over four hundred cookies, celebrated three birthdays, and went madly dashing for late Christmas gifts. I don't know why I can't plan ahead. It's not a gift of mine. I hope you enjoyed the chapter though... And Merry Christmas!**

**Phew. The chapter was finally cleaned up a bit! Thanks pokepikachu1! **


	36. End of the Beginning

Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.  
**-Winston Churchill**

Chapter 35: End of the Beginning

The crowds cheered as the three genin entered the arena. Naruto grinned widely and waved at the crowds as he bounced towards the center space. He pointedly ignored how the cheers quieted as soon as he started waving and grew louder once he stopped. He was too used to it by now for it to really affect him. He glanced over to the side to see Hinata beaming up at the crowd. She waved stiffly as sudden flood of attention was directed on her. Oh, how she hated being the center of attention.

Gaara looked over at the other two genin before looking away. They were of no consequence to him, though he did wonder how he was to go about this. Baki had ordered him not to kill anyone or break any bones of people they knew were allies. That meant he was severely restricted in his fight with Naruto. The purple-haired girl, they knew nothing about. That meant he was allowed to do whatever he wanted with her save for killing her. That was good. Gaara exhaled and bowed his head slightly. This would be a nuisance. He could already hear the slight ringing in his ear, signaling that the Ichibi would voice its displeasure soon.

"The first semi-final match will now start! Due to the strange player distribution this year," Gaara snorted, "this match is a three-way between Hyuuga Hinata and Uzumaki Naruto of Konohagakure and Sabaku Gaara of Sunagakure. Once one contestant is down, jounin will retrieve the downed genin from the arena to receive medical attention. The other two genin will fight until a winner is decided. The match will now start. Genin, get into your positions." Hayate coughed weakly into his fist before peering down from his perch. "The match will begin in three, two, one, begin!"

Hinata was off like a gunshot. She didn't even know what she was doing in this match. She was a close-range fighter against one person who had an impenetrable defense and another person who had an endless stockpile of energy. She had been strategizing this match for weeks in advance and hadn't come up with that much in regards to plans. One of her only ideas was to run and wait for the other two to tire each other out. Unfortunately, that would only work if they didn't follow her. "Byakugan!" Hinata jumped up into the treetops and let her eyes wander through the grayscale scenery.

Gaara and Naruto hadn't moved from their original positions. Naruto swallowed anxiously. Inoichi had specifically told him to try and drag out the match as long as possible. The semi-finals match was scheduled for 12:00, just when food was being carted into the Kage box. That meant it was highly likely that the rebellion would start during this match when the box was vulnerable. If Naruto hurt Gaara or vice-versa, it would just mean that they damaged their chances of defeating the rebellion swiftly.

Naruto and Gaara had talked about the match during one of the many days during the month long break.

"_What are you doing?" Gaara asked coldly. The moon was already making its journey along the sky by the time the blonde-haired boy had come to visit. Naruto had crawled up the balcony to Gaara's room. It wasn't as if the red-head had been asleep, but he loathed the intrusion in any case._

"_I need to talk to you about the semi-finals match." Gaara quirked an eyebrow. It wasn't even guaranteed that they would meet each other. Naruto would have to beat two opponents, and Gaara would have to beat one. If either of them lost a single match, they would not meet. "I'm fairly confident that I'll make it to semi-finals, and I think I could say the same for you." Naruto wiggled through the window before dropping silently onto the carpet. He dragged a chair over from the table and flopped down on it. "So, that is why I'm here. You were at Inoichi-sensei's meeting, right?"_

_Gaara nodded. The Suna delegation had been invited to the strategy meeting a week before the chuunin exams. Gaara had been relieved to see so many ninja packed into the small room. It was a miracle they had compounded enough ninja together to be prepared for the rebellion. There had been at least six Konoha genin scattered about the room, which was calming. It would have made Gaara's job much harder if there were hoards of rebelling genin._

"_At the meeting they told us to try and avoid each other too badly, but I don't know how we're going to make it convincing unless we really fight." Naruto rocked the chair backwards and stared up at the ceiling._

_Gaara looked at him pensively before saying, "Who says we can't act?"_

Gaara lifted his hand up and held it out towards Naruto. "Goodbye." The cork on his gourd shot out into the air, and sand swirled out of the gourd. It curled around Gaara's arm before flying towards Naruto.

Naruto leaped away from the incoming sand and yelled out, "**Fuuton: Daitoppa**!" A tingling feeling filled his throat as he breathed in and blew out. The wind howled as it roared out from his throat, smashing the sand away as it dove at Gaara. The Suna genin crossed his arms in front of himself, bringing a clump of sand before him as a shield. The sand sprayed around the arena as the fuuton died down, and Gaara brought his hand up.

The small brown particles shot up from their positions on the ground and scraped against Naruto. Naruto yelped as the sand scraped against his skin. No matter how many times he told himself that this was all scripted, it didn't change the fact that it hurt. Naruto reached behind his back and brought out a fist of kunai with paper bombs attached to them. He threw them up in the air and jumped back and repeated his jutsu, "**Fuuton: Daitoppa**!" The kunai tumbled down through the air just as Naruto blew out. The jutsu struck the kunai, sending them towards Gaara.

Gaara gritted his teeth. This was going to be the most difficult part. Gaara waved his arms before him and punched out with his right arm. A huge cloud of sand rose up above him. Gaara counted the seconds. One, two, now! Gaara waved out his other arm and the sand shield lurched. The edges of the shield peeled forward and wrapped around the paper bombs.

"_You're joking! If we try that, we'll get killed!" Naruto exclaimed, shooting forward in his chair._

"_Idiot. That's what we want them to think. If we do something like that, then no one will think we're together. Just calm down. We'll time it with regular kunai, and then we can do it with paper bombs for the real thing. Don't mess up, and we'll be fine."_

In retrospect, it had probably been a bad idea to try this trick with only four days before the exams. Gaara had to stop himself from covering his ears as the six paper bombs detonated. He hadn't had time to completely seal the sand dome. His arms shook as he forced himself to keep the sand dome together. His first instinct was to let it fly apart, but he couldn't do that right now.**Stupid, brat! You're letting him get away! I don't care what pathetic reasons you have to keep each other alive, but the Kyuubi is**_**mine**_**! Stop being so weak!**

Gaara growled at the Ichibi and made his right hand into a fist. He didn't have time to waste arguing with the beast right now. The sand condensed down to a small floating ball, about the size of dinner plate. Gaara looked down to see Naruto fleeing into the trees. They were on schedule. He lowered his fist down so that it was aligned with Naruto, and he flexed his hand. The ball flew after Naruto, smashing into four trees as it went. Wood splintered as the trees groaned before collapsing to the ground, broken off abruptly at the trunk. Gaara clicked his tongue in mock disappointment before striding calmly after Naruto.

From her tree, Hinata blanched. How on earth was she going to survive? She couldn't disappoint her father, but... She was going to die if she even tried to compete! Hinata focused in on Naruto and started. He was running in her direction! She pulled a paper bomb out from her pouch and held it between her fingers. She'd have to use it if he came any closer.

-TSUME-

"You were too flashy. Did you want to draw attention to yourself?" Ino tumbled back into the wall, clutching at her now red cheek. She looked down towards the ground, away from the man who had taken her in as a pupil. When her sensei had looked down on her and her father had vanished from her life, he had supported her. But now, it seemed as if she had been built up to be knocked back down again. It was as he said. She had been given an opportunity, but she continually wasted it.

"No, sir. I apologize. I wasn't thinking properly," Ino murmured quietly. Honestly, she didn't know what she thought about the man. Over the past few months, he had been her savior, her tormentor, and her protector. Even if he was cruel now, she couldn't let him go. Not when he had helped her so much. And where would she be without him? All alone. She couldn't face that again!

"Obviously not," the man growled. "All of those months ago, I took you under my wing. Despite all the work I do keeping this miserable country afloat, I still spent time to mentor you." Danzo looked down at the blonde disdainfully with his lone eye. "I would have at least expected you to learn the basics, but no! I was wrong. You continually show how very possible it is to miss my expectations. Perhaps that is a unique ability of yours I missed when I first saw you."

Ino flinched. "I chose you because of your unique potential._Potential_, not talent. Don't equate it for the same thing, girl," Danzo snapped, seeing the faint glimmer in the girl's eyes. "You have an important role to play above all the others only because I could not get another one of your relatives to do it for me. Realize that when I saw you, I did not immediately lose hope. You have little to recommend yourself with, but it'll have to do." Danzo crouched down in front of her and grabbed her by the head and force her to stare at him.

"Just remember: I can abandon you just as easily as I picked you up. You'll have no one then. You can try to fool yourself into thinking that you have friends, but you really only have me. A mother who spends more time with flora than her daughter and a father who spends more time with his team than with his family, do you really think they would support you like I have? You'd have to be deluding yourself to think so." Danzo dropped Ino and the girl's head drooped down to the ground. Her eyes stared listlessly at the ground as Danzo turned and walked away.

-TSUME-

"It has been awhile, hasn't it?" Shikaku said as he walked up to his two longtime friends. He patted Chouza's spiky red hair and looked over to Inoichi. The blonde haired man had a pleasant smile on his face, but it was a bit too pleasant. Shikaku's eyes narrowed. Had Inoichi found out something bad? The smile on his friend's face was just a little too wide. "All three of us haven't been able to talk together for a long time."

"You're right," Chouza agreed. He moved Shikaku's hand away from his hair and looked at the other two parts of the old Ino-Shika-Cho team. "The clan council meetings cannot really be considered conversations. I do believe the last time we really had a chance to talk was over a year ago. Inoichi-san has gotten quite busy now that he has his own genin team." Chouza laughed jollily, "I'm sure they're providing you quite the trouble too, Inoichi-san."

Inoichi laughed alongside his friend. "They could be worse, Chouza-san. I probably ended up with some of the smartest of the bunch. It's a bit disappointing I couldn't have reformed the next generation of Ino-Shika-Cho, but I am glad regardless. They are good kids." Inoichi smiled a tired smile. Shikaku raised a questioning eyebrow, and Inoichi shook his head slightly. They couldn't talk about it here. "So, how is your son doing, Chouza-san? I haven't seen him for a while now."

"I'm glad that he made it into the final part of the exams, you know? I'm just a little bit disappointed that he lost in the second round. You have two genin in the finals, correct? It's no wonder that you didn't see Chouji's battle. You must have been consulting your genin in-between rounds." Inoichi chuckled guiltily. He had completely forgotten that Chouji had even made it to the finals.

"He didn't have to win all of his matches to become a chuunin. The Hokage could still appoint him if he thinks that Chouji-kun did well enough," Inoichi offered.

"True," Chouza said with a nod. "This also gives me the chance to see how Chouji can improve himself. I already have a few things in mind, and I look forward to testing them. I am sure that Sarutobi-sama will work with me on it after the exams are over."

"It is good that you already know what you are going to do. I have yet to know what to do about Shikamaru," Shikaku said with a sigh. "Maybe I will just play shogi with him more often. That sounds about right. It's less troublesome that way. In any case, would you like to continue this conversation over lunch? There's a small place near here that I'm sure you both would like."

Inoichi opened his mouth to accept, but was immediately cut off by Chouza. "I can't go right now. I'm going to go to the stands. You two should join me as well." Shikaku hid a frown. It was unlike Chouza to reject food. If Chouza was acting out of his normal personality set, then there had to be something important he had to stay for. Chouji had already lost, so why did he have to stay?

"We should or we have to?" Inoichi asked, the laughter in his eyes already fading. A footstep sounded from around the corner, and Inoichi's head snapped over to see a green clad ninja stepping out. Chouji's brown hair hid his face as he stood before Shikaku and Inoichi.

"I was afraid you would ask something like that," Chouza said with a sigh. "I can't ever hide anything from you two. It's a pity you had to ask that though. I was hoping that we wouldn't have to confront one another for a long time yet." Chouza reached behind his back and brought out his bo staff. He twirled the staff in his hands before slamming the end on the ground. "It seems that this will be unavoidable though." Chouza smiled sadly, "Ino-Shika-Cho will always stay together even when it's against each other that we fight."

-TSUME-

Jiraiya hummed as he sauntered down the hallway. The handy thing about the chuunin exams was the fact that it meant that the hallways were nearly always deserted during the match hours. He didn't have to deal with any little brats, he had gotten enough of that in the past few weeks to last him a lifetime, or sneak around with his head down to gather information. Now, he could just relax for a bit. Jiraiya looked up at a clock on one of the walls.

Well, he could relax for an hour or so. The time was ticking. The exams had already progressed to the second rounds and only five genin remained. There was the Yamanaka girl, the red-haired one, and the three genin that were in a three-way even as he walked. Jiraiya recalled Naruto talking to him earlier about how he'd have to fight two opponents at the same time if he won his battles. Jiraiya stopped. That meant he was missing one of Naruto's battles! Jiraiya groaned and whacked himself in the head. He couldn't believe that he had forgotten about something so important! "I have to get there!" He mumbled under his breath as he sped down the hallways.

Jiraiya was about to turn a corner when he stopped. He had just heard something strange. "The leader gave the signal. We have ten minutes before it begins. I have to go find the others and relay the message. You stay here, Shigure-san." A boy with hanging brown hair was whispering loudly to his comrade. The other boy, a taller boy with two scars running down his face, hit him companion upside the head.

"Don't be so loud, idiot. Just go and do your job. You said we have ten minutes, right? By the time you get there, it'll be five. So shove off!" Shigure growled as he crossed his arms again. His face was set in a glower as he leaned back against the wall. He hated all of the waiting around. He had waited_months_for this day, and ten minutes just seemed too long to wait.

"R-right!" The shorter boy said as he clutched the back of his head. "I'll go now!" He began to scramble away when a kunai shot past him, embedding into the wall just in front of him. Thin strands of his dark brown hair drifted down to the floor as the two Ame ninja looked to where the kunai had come from.

Jiraiya was leaned against the wall, his legs crossed and a Cheshire smile on his face. "Now where do you think you're going, boys? Tell Uncle Jiraiya all about it and maybe I can help you." Jiraiya had already sent a toad summon off to find the Hokage. He didn't need to confirm anything else. Amegakure was not on their side.

"I don't think we have to tell you anything," Shigure said gruffly. Shigure reached under his arms and snatched fistfuls of senbon. He twisted them between his fingers and waved them threateningly at Jiraiya. "Get out of here if you know what is good for you."

"Oh really now? I think I know what is good for me. However," Jiraiya slowly started walking towards the two ninja. "I think what is good for me and what is good for you don't coincide. Both of you are coming with me. **Katon: Dai Endan**!" Jiraiya started flying through seals and took in a deep breath. A gurgling warmness made its way into his mouth before he spat out glowing red globs of oil. The oil spattered the ground behind Samidare and Shigure. Samidare jumped back as the oil ignited, causing towering flames to spiral up towards the ceiling.

Shigure clicked his tongue and turned back towards Jiraiya. "It looks like we're stuck with you now, aren't we?" Shigure grinned. It looked like he was going to get the action he had been craving. He was slightly disadvantaged by the small hallway, but he would just have to work around it. Shigure glanced over to Samidare then back to Jiraiya. "Samidare-san, we have eight minutes to relay the message. It will take you four minutes to get over there. So let's take this old man down and go." Shigure snickered, "I do my best work under pressure."

"You're a cocky brat, aren't you? One, it would take the very best ninja to defeat me in four minutes. Two, you aren't that ninja.**Rasengan**!" Jiraiya rotated his hands in the air, a small blue ball of chakra forming between his hands.

Samidare groaned and yelled, "**Suiton: Teppodama**!" He spat out six water bullets which went diving towards Jiraiya. Shigure flattened himself closer to the ground as the bullets shot ahead, forcing Jiraiya to move out of the way. He threw the senbon in his left hand towards Jiraiya, herding him to the other side of the corridor. Shigure jabbed at Jiraiya as he neared, but the Sanin easily dodged him. Shigure hated that carefree light in the other man's eyes. This was just a game to him!

Shigure threw the senbon at Jiraiya before falling back. He snapped out one of his umbrellas and jammed the hilt against his fist. An edged senbon appeared at the tip of the umbrella. Jiraiya could see a tinted green reflection off of the needle, poison. Shigure charged at Jiraiya, stabbing with the umbrella. Jiraiya swerved out of the way of all the incoming needles before suddenly lashing out with an arm, shattering the umbrella into pieces. Shigure yelled in frustration and yelled, "**Mizu Tatsumaki no Jutsu**!"

Jiraiya's eyes widened as the broken umbrella pieces were sucked into a swirling vortex of water. The shard scratched against his skin as he raised his arms up to protect his face. The water blew him back against the wall. Jiraiya cringed as he felt some of the splinters dig deeper into his back. Those would be a pain to get out later.

"What do you think you are still doing here?" Jiraiya twitched. That voice, it was familiar. The flames at the end of the hallway burst apart, flickering away as a figure stepped through them. The black clad woman strode calmly up to the two ninja and cast a glance over towards Jiraiya. "I should have suspected that it was you. I found something of yours." The woman took something out from behind her back.

The orange toad flailed as it was dangled by its two hind legs. It looked apologetically towards Jiraiya and said, "I didn't get there in time, sir! This woman caught me before I could reach the Hokage!" Jiraiya glared at the woman.

"Who are you?" Gamakichi was loudmouthed and bratty, but he also took his job seriously. Jiraiya knew that the toad had probably concealed his chakra signature and would have moved from outside ledges to avoid attracting attention. How did she notice him despite that?

"It is of no consequence to you," The woman said coldly. Her voice was condescending, as if Jiraiya was a little bug that she wanted to squash. She pulled her hood tighter around her face as she spoke to the smaller brown haired ninja. "Samidare-san, go find the others. Because of this troubling thing," she glanced back towards Jiraiya, "there is no time. The plan begins immediately."

* * *

**Author's Note: I hope you all had a great holiday season! I got to see all of my extended family again, so I'm quite happy right now. I'm slowly getting back into my work schedule (I wasn't really supposed to take two days of break this week, but I did. Now I need to double time it. ), but I hope the rest of you have a great rest!**

**Thanks to Pokepikachu1 for betaing! :D**


	37. Never Trust Anything

Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can't see where it keeps its brain.  
**-J. K. Rowling**

Chapter 36: Never Trust Anything

"**Kuchiyose no Jutsu**." The veiled man slammed his hand back against the wall, and a small puff of smoke appeared. A small black snake dropped to the ground, hissing as it curled under the man's chair. The Oto leader brought his hand back onto his lap and glanced around the Kage box. The pesky ANBU that the Hokage had sent to guard him hadn't noticed the slight chakra fluctuation. The chakra pulses from the arena were too frequent for such a weak pulse to be noticed.

He heard a soft hissing sound and glanced down to the edge of his chair. He scoot over slightly to the side, leaving a small swath for the snake to slither up beside him. The Oto leader move his arm above the snake, cloaking the small serpent underneath his long robes. "What are your ordersss, master? And what compensssation will you give for my misssion?" The snake hissed from underneath the mass of cloth. The black creature lashed its tail eagerly. This master always gave the most... interesting of missions.

"Your compensation is the mission." The man's voice was barely audible through the cheering crowds. His eyes stared blankly towards the arena where the three genin fought. "I want you to take care of the man in front of me. He's a... nuisance, shall we call it. You will realize his value soon enough. Do whatever you like to him, but makes sure he is dead." The snake hissed discontentedly before diving off the chair, landing with a thump on the ground.

His master did give interesting missions, but compensation was rarely all that great. Yellow eyes searched the small box. The man in front of his master was cloaked in red and white. The hat on top of his head signified that he was some man of rank, however, from this angle it was hard to tell much more. The ANBU were on a near continuous control. It would be hard to approach the man without being sighted.

He crawled over into the shadows and coiled up by the edge of the raised platform. Katsuo counted the seconds as the ninja patrolled around the box. He would have to time this perfectly in order to get through. After waiting for a minute, he clocked the timing of how the ANBU patrolled. There was a ten second gap between the second and third ANBU where neither of them would be able to see the back left corner of the Hokage's chair. Katsuo slithered underneath his master's chair and crawled over to the other side of the platform. And then, he waited.

The black clad ANBU stood at the corner of the platform before walking again, and Katsuo leaped at the chance. He scurried to the underside of the Hokage's chair and held in a deep breath. After a few moments, he realized that he was safe. He opened his mouth and flexed his fangs. He probably would not have much time to bite the man, so he had to be prepared. Katsuo eyed the Hokage's feet. They were disgusting targets, and it would take longer for the poison to circulate, but they would do.

He slunk under the chair and coiled behind the Hokage's legs. Katsuo opened his mouth and dove towards the back of Hiruzen's legs. That was when a hand struck out and grabbed him by the throat. The black snake thrashed in the man's grip as he was brought out into the sunlight. Gai stared at the serpent before turning to the Oto leader. "I believe this is yours." Gai's grip tightened, and the snake vanished into a puff of smoke.

Hiruzen started from his chair and moved to face the Oto leader. "ANBU! Seize that man!" The Oto leader tilted his head to the side, but Gai could just see the hints of a cruel smile from under the veil.

His eyes widened, and Gai yelled for them to stop, but it was too late. An owl-masked ANBU grabbed onto the Oto leader's arms, causing the jutsu to snap. A large smoke cloud filled the Kage box, and the ANBU screamed out in pain as snakes fastened to his arms. Gai held his hands to cover his face as the leader's clone body exploded into a hoard of poisonous snakes

The snakes dived in all directions, biting into anyone that was within reach. Hiruzen leaped back, dodging the cloud of snakes. He snatched senbon from the sleeves of his Hokage robes and flung them at the snakes. A few of the serpents were skewered by the sharp spines and disappeared, but there were still dozens more.

Gai stumbled backwards, collapsing against the Kusagakure platform. Four snakes were clamped tightly onto his body, and Gai could feel himself losing strength. "Gai-sensei!" Gai looked up to see the hazy outline of Tenten coming towards him. The genin slashed at the necks of the snakes, forcing them to disappeared. She kneeled down beside Gai, and Gai could hear the echoes of her calls for a medic nin.

He reached out and grabbed her by the arm and said, "Otogakure's leader is..." Gai clutched at his chest with his other hand before gasping out, "Orochimaru..." Tenten's chocolate eyes widened as Gai fell forward onto her.

"Gai-sensei!" She screamed.

-TSUME-

Shikaku ducked out of the way of Chouza's strike. He was reminded for the first time in years how fast the larger man was. The bo staff was a blur as Chouza continued his attacked. Shikaku found himself being constantly pulled out of his thoughts as the staff came perilously close to him. He had to think of a plan of how to escape this mess, preferably, that plan would include no one dying. He looked past Chouza to see Inoichi and Chouji on the other side of the hall. Inoichi seemed to be doing all right. That meant he had a bit more time.

Shikaku rolled out of the way and pressed himself up against the wall. The measurements of the hallway weren't too bad. It would have been a bit more helpful if the hallway was larger, but the size only eliminated 31 strategies. He still had a good number of ideas to sort through. Shikaku threw senbon at Chouza, who struck them away with the oak staff.

Shikaku noticed that neither Akimichi had used any size-related jutsu in their entire fight. That meant that they probably didn't want to catch attention or that they were restricted to not destroying the facility. That meant that _that plan_ was probably the best one to execute. Shikaku pulled out a flashbomb and threw it at the ground. He closed his eyes as the bomb exploded and grabbed the materials out of his side pocket.

Most ninja didn't carry around rubberbands, sheets of paper, and pencils, but Shikaku wasn't like most ninja. He scribbled a few numbers on the sheet of paper and wrapped it around a kunai with the rubberband. By the time the flashbomb faded, he had stowed the pencil away. Shikaku flung the kunai, and Chouza dodged out of the way. The kunai embedded into the wall on the other side of the hallway Inoichi plucked it out.

Inoichi pulled the sheet of paper off and deflected Chouji's attack with the kunai. He threw the smaller boy off and unrolled the paper, glancing over it quickly. The numbers 08.29.99 were written on the sheet of paper. Inoichi crumpled the paper in his hand and dodged out of the way as Chouji struck at him. The end of the oak staff passed worringly close to his head as Inoichi leaned out of the way. Chouji continued his strikes, each aimed at Inoichi's head. Inoichi knew a single hit with the staff would be enough to derail him for at least twenty seconds. Inoichi couldn't afford that.

Inoichi weaved in and out of Chouji's blows and slowly noticed a pattern between the strikes. Luckily for Inoichi, Chouji wasn't a master with the bo staff. The boy's strikes were fast, but not incredibly varied. Inoichi slipped a kunai out of his side pouch and threw it. The kunai flew right past Chouji, but that was Inoichi wanted. The blade pierced the end of the oak staff, and Chouji's strikes slowed. The unexpected weight on the bo caused the staff to be unbalanced, something Chouji hadn't trained for. Inoichi took the opportunity and signed, "**Doton: Doryuu Taiga**!"

The ground turned to sludge underneath Chouji, causing the boy to slip backwards. His grip remained fast on the staff even as he dropped to the ground. Inoichi jumped towards Chouji and kicked him soundly. Chouji slid along the mud slickened ground before crashing into the wall behind. Inoichi glanced over towards Shikaku. He was in position. Now he only had to fulfill his half of the mission.

Inoichi turned and shunshined away from Chouji and to the other side of the hallway. Once he landed on the other side, he pointed his hands at Chouji and yelled, "**Shintenshin no Jutsu**!" Inoichi felt himself leaving his body as he inserted himself inside of Chouji. The genin tried to evade, but the slick mud prevented him from getting away.

At the same time, Shikaku ducked out of Chouza's reach and threw four senbon. The needles smashed into the bulbs that light the hallway, sending the four ninja into darkness. Chouza fled backwards towards one of the lit areas at the end of the hall, yelling for Chouji to do the same. It was just as Shikaku thought. He looked over to the side to see Inoichi's form falling to the ground and called out, "**Kagemane no Jutsu**!" His shadow shot through the darkness towards Inoichi. The black jutsu snagged onto Inoichi's shadow, causing the body to right itself.

Chouza, realizing that his son was trapped inside shadows, fished a flash bomb out of his pocket. He would need to evacuate Chouji out of the area or at least take him to a better lit place. He was about to throw the flashbomb when he saw Chouji running towards him. "Chouji! Get out of here qui-" Chouza ducked out of the way as Chouji's staff came hurtling towards him. Chouza played back the jutsu he had heard his old teammates say in his mind. It was strategic plan 8, sub-type 29, placement 99.

Chouza growled. It was one of the strategies that Shikaku had devised when they were still a team. The Nara had them memorize hundreds of battle strategies. All of the sub-type 29 strategies were only to be used when Shikaku and Inoichi worked alone. Chouza cursed himself for allowing them to communicate with one another. He blocked Chouji's, no, Inoichi's bo strike with his own staff and pushed the smaller boy back. He didn't want to hurt Chouji, but how was he going to free the boy?

It was impossible to do in the current situation. Chouza wasn't a tactical genius like Shikaku, but he knew when he was at a grave disadvantage. He would have to retreat and find backup. Chouza turned down the hallway and ran, hoping that he would be able to return and save his son.

-TSUME-

"Would the pretty lady like to tell me what this plan is?" Jiraiya said with a wink. Thoughts were racing through his head. Gamakichi hadn't been able to get his message out, so Jiraiya had to create a plan without relying on reinforcements. He could handle the kids, but he couldn't get a feel for the power of the woman. It was impossible to tell her muscle distribution and she hadn't shown any clue as to her chakra affinity yet. Jiraiya glanced out the window towards the forest. All he knew was that he'd have to get out of the building. He couldn't dodge effectively in such close quarters.

"No, she wouldn't like to tell you," the woman said as she shoved Samidare down the hall. The thin genin scurried away, and Jiraiya's eyes narrowed. He couldn't let him get away.

"**Kuchiyose: Gamaguchi Shibari**!" Jiraiya slammed his hand against the wall. Pink rubbery esophageal tissue spread across the walls, crawling along the floor. Samidare glanced over his shoulder to see the mass coming towards him and bolted to run, but the tissue grew beneath him. As he turned the corner, he slammed into a wall of organ and stumbled down to the ground.

"Konan-sama! I can't get out!" Samidare yelled, tugging at his arms that were stuck four inches deep into the tissue. The organ clung onto his clothes and skin, preventing him from getting back up. Jiraiya started at Samidare's words. Konan?

The woman clicked her tongue and said, "Samidare-san, I told you to not address me in such a manner while with other people. You've just made things more difficult." She reached a gloved hand up to her face and pulled back the hood. Blue locks fell onto her shoulders, and Jiraiya froze.

"Konan? Is that you?" Jiraiya asked dumbfounded. He had lost track of his students after they had left to pursue their own goals. He had even heard rumors that they had all died. To see Konan here, and live, was something he would have never dreamt of.

Konan stared back at her old teacher blankly before saying, "Yes, my name is Konan. But if you are asking if I am the Konan you remember, no, I am not her anymore. I've changed too much to be_that_Konan anymore." Konan glanced up towards the ceiling and said, "It's a bit nostalgic seeing this again, but remember Jiraiya," Konan held up four paper bombs between her fingers, "I am your former student. I know how you think and how your jutsu work." She flung the paperbombs.

The paperbombs embedded in the soft tissue before detonating. The tissue contracted as the explosions burnt into the flesh. Jiraiya frowned. He needed to end the jutsu quickly. It wasn't as if the muscle he summoned wasn't attached to a toad. Small injuries such as kunai marks were of no consequence, but explosions could gravely injure the toad that the organ was attached to. Konan's eyes glinted darkly as she noticed the thoughts running through Jiraiya's mind.

"Shigure-san, Samidare-san, once there is an opening, you will both flee. You will be of absolutely no use here," Konan ordered. Shigure opened his mouth to protest, but Konan was already dispersing. Paper notes peeled away from her skin. Soon, Konan was simply a cloud of paper notes. Jiraiya watched the cloud warily before catching sight of two inked notes among the mass. He hurled two kunai into the storm, but the notes swerved out of the way before connecting with their target, the weakened flesh around the window.

Jiraiya could almost hear the toad scream as the notes connected. Immediately, he dispelled the jutsu, sending the organ back its owner. The window exploded open, sending glass spraying into the hallway. Shigure and Samidare took off at a run down the hall while Konan flew out through the window. She reformed outside, hovering in the air with her broad papered wings. Jiraiya growled. He hated having to make lose-lose choices like this. He climbed up onto the window ledge and jumped.

He fell through the air before a tree met him halfway. He tumbled along the branches before landing on the ground. Konan stared down at him and raised her hand off to the side. Jiraiya was about to sign a jutsu when the sound of a branch snapping caught his attention. He flipped backwards as a three-pronged scythe flew past him, embedding into the tree he had just fallen from. "Ah! I missed! Dangit!"

Jiraiya looked over into the brush warily. Two against one were not odds that he liked.

Konan flew down to the ground and demanded, "What are you doing here, Hidan-san?" A loud groan came from the thicket and a grey haired man stepped out into the small clearing. He jerked the scythe out from the tree and glanced towards Konan before looking away. Konan growled. Hidan twirled his scythe around his hand and gave a careless shrug.

"Waiting isn't my style. Come on, woman. Did you really expect me to wait for a full flippin' month without going stir crazy?" Hidan waved the scythe threateningly at Konan, "I haven't sacrificed anyone to Jashin for ages! It's about time anyways. One hour, two hours, it isn't that much of a difference anyways. Plus, this old coot looks interesting!"

Jiraiya frowned. Things were looking bad. He could have chalked up Konan's appearance to her joining Amegakure, but Hidan was a known member of the Akatsuki. He wasn't even hiding it. The red cloud pattern on his cloak clearly showed that he was here to represent the S-Class group. Did this mean that the rebellion had chosen to affiliate itself with known criminals? He couldn't imagine anyone doing that, even if they did want the Hokage overthrown.

Jiraiya bit his lip. The situation had gotten much more complicated than he would have liked. Jiraiya glanced around the forest. It was a bad place to have a fight, but he needed to get help. "**Kuchiyose no Jutsu**!" Smoke erupted from the ground. The ground groaned and the trees creaked as sudden pressure pressed upon them. When the smoke cleared, a dark red toad stood in a makeshift clearing with trees bent every which way in order to make room.

"Jiraya! What do you think you're doing calling me out here? I don't fit," Gamabunta grumbled, puffing on his long pipe. Jiraiya laughed and scratched the back of his head.

"Well, I sort of need your help. I know that this isn't the best place for you to fight," Gamabunta snorted, "but I've gotten myself into a fix again. Can you handle it for a little while?" Gamabunta looked down at the smaller man with a bemused expression on his face. The great toad sage was actually willing to ask for his help and not simply expect it, huh? This was bound to be interesting.

Gamabunta glanced over to where Konan and Hidan stood, Hidan with his scythe at the ready and Konan with paperbombs between her fingers. The toad frowned when he noticed the red clouds on Hidan's cloak. "I see..." Gamabunta looked down towards Jiraiya. "I will do what I can to help."

Jiraiya smiled broadly. "Good, good." He turned back to Konan and said, "Don't think that because I trained you I'll go easy on you!"

Konan tilted her head to the side and a hint of a smile crossed her lips, "I wouldn't have it any other way, Jiraiya-sensei."

-TSUME-

"Gai-sensei!" Tenten's shrill scream echoed throughout the arena. Kakashi bolted up from his seat in the stands and stared at the rim of the Hokage box. He had to get up there. He peeled down his face mask and opened his second eye. The sharingan whirled as Kakashi picked out a path to the Hokage box through the masses of people in the stands. An unexpected movement in the corner of his vision caused Kakashi to jump back, a kunai flashing over his head.

Kakashi instinctively pulled three kunai out from his bag and held them to the side. He looked towards where the kunai came from and frowned. "Don't wave those things around as if they were toys, Hatake-san. They could hurt somebody. Why don't you put them away?" Genma chewed on the senbon between his teeth as an all too pleasant smile crossed his face.

"I don't see why I should. It's not as if I took them out for my own amusement. Perhaps you two should explain yourselves first," Kakashi said coldly. He knew that they had to have thrown the kunai. Otherwise, they never would have confronted him. If the ninja wanted to kill him, they would have disappeared into the crowd. Obviously, they were trying to stall him. The crowd around them parted away from the three ninja and fled from the arena. Kakashi glanced over to the side. Something was up. And apparently, he was the one left out this time.

"We're doing this for your own good, Hatake-san. We don't want to hurt you if we can help it," Shirakumo said lowly. His arms were crossed tightly, and Kakashi wondered what the man hid under his arms. He stepped back warily, eyeing the two jounin. The corners of Shirakumo's mouth turned down at Kakashi's hesitance. "It is in your best interest that you stay here."

"Haven't you heard?" Kakashi asked innocently. "I've never been good at doing what's good for me. Now give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you both. Attacking another Konoha ninja unprovoked is a criminal offense." Their headbands still had the Konoha emblem on them, so why were they doing this? They obviously hadn't become missing nin.

"Soon, Hatake-san, you will be the one committing treason if you carry through with what you plan," Genma interjected casually. He propped his head back on his hands and looked over to the arena. "I like you Hatake-san. We're gone on enough missions together to become what I consider friends. We don't have to do this. All you have to do is sit still for a few hours."

Kakashi growled. He wasn't stupid. He understood the implications of what Genma had just said. "I'm not going to betray my Hokage. I had thought better of you, Shiranui-san, Hayama-san. It appears that I was wrong though. Rats and vermin have scurried in the corners of Konoha under my watch. It appears I will have to correct that."

Genma sighed and took his hands away from behind his head. "It's a pity, Hatake-san. I didn't want to have to do this, but it appears we must fight."

-TSUME-

Gaara pulled to a stop abruptly and turned towards the grandstands. Naruto furrowed his eyes before he heard it. A piercing scream came from the edges of the arena. Gaara and Naruto shared a glance. They both knew what that sound meant. "What is going on?" Hinata asked in confusion. She looked from Naruto to Gaara. Why were they looking at each other as if they knew something that she didn't? "Do you know?"

A coil of sand crawled up Hinata's leg and snagged her firmly in place. Hinata started and tried to jerk it out, but the sand held fast. More sand streamed up her sides and made a noose around her neck. Gaara walked up to her calmly and stared into her eyes. Hinata looked away. The sand was tight around her neck, making it harder for her to breathe. "Tell me, woman. Are you or are you not part of the rebellion? If you lie to me, I will know, and I will kill you." Hinata gulped. She didn't doubt that Gaara would kill her. It was the other part that confused her.

"I don't know about any rebellion!" Hinata gasped out. She wanted to claw away at the sand around her neck, but the cocoon of sand made it impossible for her hands to move. Gaara's green eyes bored into her for a moment before he snorted. Suddenly, the sand retracted away from her, causing Hinata to fall to the ground. She grunted as she hit the dirt. "Is that what is going on, a war?"

Naruto clicked his tongue from beside Gaara and turned to look at the other male, "It would be just like Hyuuga-san to exclude his daughter. It would be fortunate for him if she died or was captured after all." Hinata felt a chill run down her spine. What were they talking about? Her father would have wanted her to die? She slumped backwards, hitting a tree. Thoughts connected in her mind. The rebellion had to be an inner-Konoha struggle. They mentioned her father, so her father was against the Hokage? Why would he do anything like that?

A memory flashed into her mind. Of course. She had disregarded it as her father's normal grumblings, but that had to be it. He had always been dissatisfied with the idealistic way the Hokage dealt with problems. Hinata was shocked that Hiashi that it was important enough to try and overthrow Konoha for though. "Let's go, Gaara-san. Hinata-chan, you should stay in here. No one should come in here for awhile."

Hinata got up from the ground and said, "I can't just stay here while the Hokage is in danger! Let me help! You obviously know what is going on, so there must be some way for me to be of use!" Naruto hummed in thought.

"Hinata-chan, I'm doing this for your own good. Unless you think you are strong enough to fight against your friends and even your family, you shouldn't come," Naruto said, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

"Don't look down on me, Uzumaki-san. When I took my ninja oath, I swore to protect Konohagakure and my Hokage. I'm might not be able to do anything important, but I'll still be able to help. Let me come with you." Naruto met Hinata's eyes for a moment before he smiled.

"Sorry, Hinata-chan. I didn't mean to do that. Come on, we shouldn't wait around here any longer than we have to." Naruto waved at Gaara to follow and the three shunshined towards the stands.

**Author's Note: Woohoo! The story crossed 300 reviews! Thank you so much for that! You guys give me the motivation to keep on writing. ^^ I hope you continue to enjoy Team Tsume! **

**Thanks to pokepikachu1 for betaing me! ^^**


	38. War is Hell

War is hell.  
**-William Tecumseh Sherman**

Chapter 37: War is Hell

His shoes thundered down the halls as he made his way to the checkpoint. Things had not gone as planned, but this turn out wasn't entirely unexpected either. He was just glad that things did not turn much worse, like he knew they could have. Orochimaru had left the Kage box soon after summoning Katsuo. He knew that if things turned cold, as they did, he would have been the first one they suspected.

Konoha was such a predictable country. They believed that all of their rules and regulations would keep them safe. What a joke. Orochimaru snorted. After they managed to get an agent inside of the Hokage's personal forces, it had been simple to plan for how the Hokage would respond to such a crisis. The Hokage guard had told them everything from which men would stand where to the procedures taken when guards swapped duties.

Using that information, Orochimaru had planned everything out. He knew which guards would grab him and directed the snakes accordingly to only bite the ninja that were against them. If he hadn't received the information, he would have gone with the simpler elemental bunshin, but this was a chance he just couldn't miss. Katsuo's failure could actually turn out into a net positive if the other summons bit enough of the other high ranking ninja.

Orochimaru turned around the corner and headed deeper into the dimly lit tunnels. He was generally pleased with the ways things were turning out. Originally, he had not been sure whether or not to pursue the venture, but he was glad he did. He had laid his seal into two of the Konohagakure genin. And, in a surprising twist of good fortune, both genin survived the sealing process. Not even he, Orochimaru, predicted such an outcome to occur. All he had to do was wait for his seed to bloom among the two ninja. Even over the short month that he had been here, he had seen growth in how both genin were reacting to the seals. It was just a waiting game now.

Orochimaru slowed his pace to a slow walk as he neared the end of the hallway. He walked around the corner to see a dark figure leaning against the wall. The man's arms were crossed tightly against his chest. A single eye stared at him, and Orochimaru could sense the man's irritation in the air. "Have I kept you waiting? I am _so _sorry," Orochimaru hissed unapologetically. "Now what do you want? I have business of my own to attend to, Shimura-san. Otogakure is here only to abide by the terms set forth in our deal. If you ask for any unexpected favors," Orochimaru tilted his head to the side and smiled cruelly, "you'll need to increase your payment."

Danzo growled and pushed off of the wall. His black ninja garb made him blend in with the darkness. Orochimaru's slitted eyes followed Danzo carefully as the man approached him, a mere spectre among the shadows. Something about the man's countenance unnerved Orochimaru. And Orochimaru was not one to feel afraid, no, something was off with Danzo. Orochimaru drew his right hand farther back into his robes. Until he knew what the man wanted, he had to be careful.

"Your presence is necessary elsewhere. You will come with me." Danzo said simply. He strode past Orochimaru, knocking him away with a brush of his shoulder.

"I do not take orders from anyone, Shimura-san. Do not forget your place," Orochimaru snarled. His nails dug into the palm of his hand as he glowered from underneath his hat. He could not believe the insolence of Danzo. The man could offer him nothing but fodder to use for his experiments. "To me, you are easily replaceable. Do not overestimate your own value."

Danzo stared down the hallway, his face frozen. "I assure you, Orochimaru-san. I am not in the habit of overestimating anyone's value. To me, you are valuable." The corners of Danzo's mouth twitched upwards. "Unfortunately, you're worth just as much to me on my side or not." Danzo snapped his fingers and a loud bang was heard in the hallway. Invisible gas seeped out of the small capsule on Orochimaru's shoulder and swept into the man's lungs.

Orochimaru clawed for the capsule, trying to get rid of it, but it was too late. Orochimaru hit the ground only seconds later.

-TSUME

"Move it, brats!" Asuma shouted back to the two genin. Sasuke clicked his tongue and sped after the jounin. He _hated_ being given orders. He didn't care that Asuma was the leader of their small "mission." Sasuke was an Uchiha, and Uchihas only took suggestions, never orders.

"Shut up!" Sasuke shouted back as he sped after Asuma. It had been their mission to eliminate the reserve ninja in the corners of the village. Sasuke, Shino, and Asuma had been assigned to the third base. It didn't take them very long. None of them even expected that an attack would come from their supposed "comrades," and so they were crushed. Asuma had made sure that none of them would be able to help the loyalists any time soon.

The three didn't even notice that they were being watched from the rooftops. Black hair fluttered in the wind as Kurenai's eyes followed the three rebels. "Lee-kun, Hanagaki-kun," Kurenai looked back over her shoulder to the two genin, "Will you come with me? I can't force you into doing anything, but I would feel better if you had my back."

Lee grinned and said, "Of course, Kurenai-sensei! It would be unyouthful of me to stay behind!" He gave a proud salute and jumped up and down. "Shall I go intercept them, Kurenai-sensei?" Kurenai smiled warmly at the genin and nodded.

"There's a plaza just up ahead. Try to intercept them there if you can. Hanagaki-kun and I will be right after you." Ryuu was nodding as the other two spoke. Secretly, he was deathly afraid of fighting and didn't really want to enter the conflict, but he knew he couldn't just stay behind either.

"Yes, ma'am!" Lee cheered before speeding away. He leaped across the rooftops as he made his way towards the plaza. He glanced down into the pathway just beneath him and noticed the figures of the three ninja just ahead of him. "I have to hurry!" He put on a burst of speed and catapulted ahead of them. He then dove down from the rooftop and landed on the other side of the plaza. Lee whirled around as the other ninja approached and called out, "Stop right there, my unyouthful opponents!"

Shino skidded to a sudden stop as the green blur swerved in front of them. He took a step back before saying, "Lee-san, it is a surprise to see you here, but we are not your opponents. Why would you think such a thing?"

"I saw you as you were leaving the border office! You were doing a very unyouthful thing back there, Aburame-san! I must turn you, Uchiha-san, and Sarutobi-san over to the Hokage!" Lee settled back on his feet and waved his hands threateningly at the three. "Either you can surrender now or I will take you by force!"

Shino pushed his sunglasses farther up his face. The situation was less than optimal. From the corner of his vision, he could see the blue hair of Ryuu sticking out like a beacon. Even worse, the kikaichu he had placed on Kurenai was sending out frequent warning signals. This would become a three on three fight. Shino was not a strategist, but he knew that the battle would not be easy. "Unfortunately, Lee-san, we cannot lose." Shino let his hand drop limply down to his side. He released rapid-fire spurts of chakra, and hundreds of kikaichu streamed out from his sleeves.

-TSUME-

He might have joked about it so many times before, but when he was faced with death, Ryuu was afraid. So often, he had said that people were out to get him or he was about to die, but now, he knew he really was about to die. His vision was already getting hazy before him, and he knew he was running out of chakra. It wasn't as if he was a chakra powerhouse anyways. Ryuu rolled out of the way as the cloud of kikaichu swarmed the spot where he once stood. "**Suiton: Mizurappa**!" A wave of water swept out from his mouth and doused the bugs, rendering some of them unable to fly. It still wasn't enough.

Ryuu glanced over to see Rock Lee busy battling Asuma while Kurenai was trying to contain Sasuke. It wasn't an optimal situation by any means. Lee was battling another close-ranged fighter, a fighter more experienced than him at that. And Kurenai was stuck fighting off Sasuke, who had the Sharigan. She was known as the master of genjutsu, but the sharigan was infamous for being able to see through any genjutsu. And he, Ryuu, was just plain weak.

He had no false pretenses about his ability as a ninja. There had been a reason that he never made it to the finals of the chuunin exams. He wasn't nearly up to the level of his teammates. He really just wanted to become a medic nin to reach the ninja that his parents weren't able to heal in the hospital. But now, Ryuu was sure he would never be able to do that.

The blue-haired boy crushed one of the kikaichu on his hair as it scurried up the side of his neck. He didn't have much time left, but he couldn't abandon his comrades. Ryuu gave himself a quick chakra scan and took in a deep breath. He had enough energy left for one last jutsu. He'd have to give it all he had. "**Suiton: Mizurappa**!" The torrent that flowed out was stronger than anything he had ever created before.

Water swept down the street, blowing Shino back into a brick wall. The boy slid down the wall and grunted as pain shot up his back. He shakily forced himself up from the ground and stared through his sunglasses towards his opponent. Ryuu was wobbling back and forth on his feet before his eyes rolled back up in his head. Shino gave a sigh. He had done his part. He lifted his head up from the ground when he noticed the water turning red by his feet.

"HANAGAKI!" Sasuke dropped Ryuu's limp form to the ground, causing crimson water to splash up onto his legs. Her voice cracked as she dove at Sasuke, forcing him away from the genin. Sasuke dodged the kunai and flipped backwards into the water. He watched unsympathetically as Kurenai held Ryuu in her arms. "You..." Kurenai punched at the ground and shook with fury as she stood up. "You'll pay for that!"

"Oh will I? I'd like to see you try," Sasuke sneered. Kurenai dove at him, and Sasuke got down into a battle crouch. Suddenly, Sasuke was dragged across the street. He unwrapped the arm around him and snapped, "What do you think you're doing?"

Asuma growled, "I should be asking you that! Our mission isn't kill people! Hanagaki-san had already been incapacited! What were you thinking?"

"Doing my job, like you aren't doing yours," Sasuke said shortly. His sharingan flashed dangerously at Asuma before a small frown crossed his face. His arm reached back, and he snatched a kunai from his pouch. "She's coming."

"**Genjutsu: Kahen Tonsou**!" Kurenai's red eyes flared as her body burst apart, sakura petals filling the air. Asuma pulled out his chakra blades and grunted. Kurenai was the last person he wanted to fight. The petals swarmed the air before diving at the two ninja. Asuma dived out of the way and slashed at the air, only to have the petals part away from him.

He attempted to disperse the genjutsu, but his chakra pulse wasn't enough to disrupt her control. "Behind you," Asuma looked over towards Sasuke who was running towards him. The boy's hands were out to the side and he quietly murmured, "**Chidori**." The sound of a thousand birds filled the air as the lightning sword crackled to life. Asuma ducked out of the way as Sasuke stabbed the air where he once stood.

"What are you do-" Asuma's voice fell. The sakura petals drifted through the air before dispersing on the ground. Sasuke slid the chidori out of Kurenai's chest, leaving the woman to stumble backwards, clutching at her chest. Her eyes were wide with shock as she fell to the ground. Kurenai looked over to the side and met eyes with Shino, who was frozen in his place. Realizing that even Shino would not help her, Kurenai coughed out, "It's just my luck that I had to face an Uchiha."

Kurenai could feel her last breaths leaving her. She looked up at Sasuke and bit out, "I hope that you will suffer, Uchiha. The weight of death is now on your shoulders, and it will never leave you. You are not a ninja, you are a murderer." Kurenai wheezed in a final breath before her chest fell still.

Rock Lee stared at the fallen forms of his two comrades. It had happened again. They had... died. Lee let out a gutteral scream and smashed his fists into the ground. A fire boiled up inside of his chest. He wanted to make Sasuke pay, to make each of them pay, but he knew that he would only get himself killed. What he had to do was go get help and let everyone know what had happened. Tears streamed down his face as he forced himself up from the ground. "Uchiha-san, Sarutobi-san, Aburame-san, I will never forgive you all for killing Kurenai-sensei and Hanagaki-san! Today may or may not be that day, but know that you will all definitely pay for this!" He turned and sprinted away from the blood bath. He needed to find Gai and Tenten.

"That was disappointing," Sasuke drawled as he nudged Kurenai's limp form with his foot. "I had rather expected jounin to be stronger, but I guess she only had her genjutsu. How weak. She couldn't do anything else? No wonder she died." His red eyes glanced down to his crimson dyed arm, and he sighed. "And now she's made me all messy." Sasuke gave his arm a hard shake, sending splatters of blood across the ground.

He glanced over his shoulder and called out, "Oi, let's go. They're expecting us to report in soon." Sasuke groaned when he saw Asuma standing stock still, staring at the lifeless figure at Sasuke's feet. "Don't tell me you're going to cry over her now? Good grief. If you didn't want to fight her, you should have locked her up somewhere until the rebellion was over. Seriously, it's your own fault that she's dead. If you had taken the precautions to make sure she wouldn't be loose, then this never would have happened."

Asuma took a step backward and lowered his head. He clenched his fist tightly and growled out, "You wouldn't understand, Uchiha-san. You've never loved anyone enough to regret losing them! Why did you have to kill Kurenai?" Asuma dropped to his knees and covered his damp eyes with his hand. "We were supposed to prevent anyone from interfering, not kill everyone!"

Sasuke stamped his foot on the ground and spat out, "Don't assume anything about me, Sarutobi-san! You're not the only one who has suffered in this world, and don't you forget it!" He turned his head away and glared menacingly at the dead bodies of Kurenai and Ryuu. "We completed our mission, didn't we? They won't interfere now. Death is the only way to permanently stop anyone in this world anyways," Sasuke said lowly.

Sasuke turned to Shino and said, "Leave him behind, Aburame-san. If he's going to waste time and cry over spilt milk, he's not going to be of any use to us. Let's go back." Shino didn't move. All he could do was stare at the lifeless form of his jounin sensei and the last desperate look she had sent him, begging for someone to save her.

* * *

**Author's Note: Hey guys! I'm sorry that I wasn't able to update last week. I was planning on trying to make this chapter longer to make up for it, but it just isn't going to happen. I'm sorry about that. ): I ended up going toxic on some of my medication, so I spent most of the past two weeks throwing up, getting migraines, and sleeping. We've switched some stuff around, so hopefully I won't be as sick in the future. I apologize for the delays though!**

**And on a slightly more story related note... I'm expecting at least six angry reviews for this chapter if not more. But before any of you start to worry, please don't. I'm not going to kill off everyone and anyone, but let's be realistic. This is practically an all-out war. Causalities will happen, just like in real life. And before any of you think it, I am **_**not**_ **killing off characters I hate. I loved Neji and Kurenai, but they had to die for a reason. The reason may not be clear right now, but it will be revealed eventually. So while you might not be happy with the turn of events, I hope you understand. :) Thanks so much, and I hope you still enjoyed the chapter!**


	39. Scars of War

The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war.

**-Douglas MacArthur**

Chapter 38: Scars of War

"Get the injured to the hospital and return immediately!" Hiruzen thundered. Dozens of ninja swarmed around the Kage box in a flurry of activity. Gai and seven other ninja were pulled from the ground and carried off in the direction of the hospital. Hiruzen sighed as he surveyed the spectacle. The time had come for the war that would tear Konoha apart. He was no fool. He knew that no matter what the outcome was, Konoha would never be the same as it was before.

Hiruzen clasped his hands together and closed his eyes. He could hear the voices of his people screaming around him in a throng of chaos. The aged man wished he could rescue them all, but knew he could not. He would have to manage with what he could do from above. His eyes flashed open, and he called out, "We have been betrayed! This day, Konohagakure opened its borders to welcome in the finals of the chuunin exam. This day, our allies turned against us and even my own people fight amongst each other, brother against brother, and father against son. If you count yourselves an ally of Konohagakure, then aid my country when we need you most. Konohagakure will survive, but the ground on which it stands afterwards depends on your choices now."

Hiruzen's eyes darkened as a small ounce of killer intent seeped from his body. The potent aura was enough to make the men around him shiver. "But I assure you, if you stay silent despite hearing my call to arms, I would urge you to consider the future wellbeing of all of your countries." The unspoken threat lingered in the air. Konoha was one of the five great shinobi villages, and it was one of the most generous at that. Many countries accepted Konoha's help, even if they disliked the country, because they relied on the profitable trade agreements and subsidies they received. Making an enemy out of Konoha could potentially cripple a country.

"Hokage-dono," Hiruzen looked over to see the fourth Kazekage walking towards him. "I have just received word that fights are breaking out inside the city. I deployed my men to evacuate civilians to the safe-zones as planned." Hiruzen nodded towards the brown-haired man, much to the confusion of the other ninja in the box.

"I see that I have been left in the dark for quite some time then. I'm hurt, Hokage-dono," said Matsuoka Ran, the leader from Kusagakure. "But Kusagakure shall stand by your side. What is it that you request of us?" The woman pushed her square-rimmed glasses further up her face and motioned for three of her ANBU guard to step forward.

Yagura clicked his tongue and turned away. "The way you so kindly phrased your offer gives me little choice. Kirigakure will have your back in this fight." The child-like man glanced over his shoulder before turning his gaze back towards Hiruzen. "It appears that not all of us in the box agreed with you though." Hiruzen looked past the Mizukage to see the empty seat of the Amegakure leader. Hiruzen hummed thoughtfully and motioned for one of his ANBU to come closer to him.

A fox-masked ANBU stepped closer and Hiruzen whispered into his ear, "Find Yamanaka Inoichi and bring him here." The black clad man bow at the waist and shunshined away. Hiruzen sighed and turned to the other leaders that stood in the Kage box. "It will be unfortunately difficult to discern innocent Konohagakure ninja from rebelling ninja, so it would be best if your ninja guard strategically important points around the village." Hiruzen held out his hand and one of his ANBU placed a small scroll onto his wrinkled palm.

Hiruzen walked over to the balcony ledge and rolled out the scroll. "I have men covering the hospital and the weapons cache, but I had to be sparing in regards to the rest of the village. Matsuoka-dono, will you send your men to cover the civilian council? I fear the jounin squads I have deployed around them will not be enough. Also," Hiruzen's voice lowered slightly, "I fear the jounin will have to defend from attacks on the inside as much as the outside."

The green-haired woman sighed and nodded. "Understood. Your people are more troublesome than I last remembered, Hokage-dono. You had better keep up your end of this deluded bargain." Ran swept away from the Hokage to talk with her men, and Yagura made his way over to the Hokage's side.

"Where should my men go, Hokage-dono?" Yagura asked calmly. It secretly irritated him to have to take orders from anyone, but it would be thrice as troublesome if he didn't help the Hokage. He had come here to watch the chuunin exams, not to get caught in some rebellion. If he ever found the rat that started this war, he'd make them regret doing such an annoying thing.

"If you could direct them to-" Hiruzen's voice broke off as he felt a small twinge of killer intent behind him. He whirled around on his feet and struck out at the form. His fist collided with a young Kirigakure jounin, sending the man tumbling back against the wall.

"What do you think you are doing?" Yagura thundered in protest. But then, his voice cut off as he turned to stare at the body that should have been a jounin. The ninja writhed against the wall, his uniform pulsing white and then black while twisting around his skin. Some of his, its, skin melted away to reveal the shrunken form of white Zetsu.

Thorns protruded from the creature's skin, and scars were laced across its snake-like flesh. Claw-like fingers scratched against the ground, and Zetsu tilted his head to the side with a disappointed frown. "Ehh. I'm surprised that you found me out. I thought I would at least be able to kill one of you before having to kill the rest. Now I'm going to have to be more... obvious." Hiruzen's eyes flashed to the side as more of the ANBU and jounin began to convulse around him.

The four country leaders backed together as their men slowly began to shift their forms. "Well, this is unexpected," Ran commented as some of her men began to lose their shape and reform once more. "You have the most creative enemies, Hokage-dono."

"I wish I could appreciate that honor, Matsuoka-dono. It is an honor I could very well do without."

-TSUME-

Kunai clashed in the air as the three jounin fought. Kakashi found the battlefield restraining. Civilians were still fleeing the stands, and every stray kunai had a chance of accidentally killing someone. The presence of the civilians did not only mean that Kakashi was restrained in how he threw his kunai, but he was also prohibited from using too many jutsu. Ninjutsu were not exactly known for their damage-control after all.

Kakashi plucked an incoming senbon out of the air and flung it back at Genma who bent down to the ground. Genma grunted as a young boy jostled him from behind. There were too many people in the stands for them to fight effectively. In a way, this gave Kakashi the advantage. If Kakashi wanted to slip away, he would have a much easier time blending into the ground. Genma leaped out of the way of another kunai. Luckily, it appeared that Kakashi had no intention of trying to flee.

Kakashi whirled around as Shirakumo brought down his sword. Kakashi blocked the blade with his kunai, but was forced back a few inches. Shirakumo forced his blade down, causing Kakashi to grunt as it became harder to hold the other man back. "Why are you doing this, Hayama-san? I expected you, of all people, to be more sensible! Are you going to tell me that you are betraying the Hokage-sama for some petty vendetta?"

Shirakumo growled and jumped away from Kakashi, swiping at the other man as he did. He dived in for another strike only to have Kakashi swerve out of the way. "I have no personal reasons to betray the Hokage. I have served under Hokage-sama long enough to know that he is a good man, but I cannot approve of how he leads Konoha.**Shinkuken**!" Kakashi tumbled back over one of the benches as a blast of air swept him off his feet. He rolled under the wooden benches as senbon flew towards him.

"What is it that is so important to you that it causes you to abandon your own country and become a traitor?" Kakashi demanded. He squeezed out from under the bench and struck at Genma's head, forcing the man to duck down. Kakashi then spun around and kicked Genma in the upper chest, sending him flying into a cluster of civilians.

"The Hokage is a good man, but not a good leader. His sense of justice and honor make him a gullible leader. Konoha is suffering under his rule because of all the unprofitable trade agreements and subsidies. He gives away thousands to other countries because of his selfish sympathies. He is hurting Konoha because of it!" Sword met kunai again as the two jounin fought against each other.

"How can I support a leader that allows his own people to starve in the streets because he favors the needs of other countries before his own? A leader would care for his own before instead of letting them die for the sake of others!" Shirakumo thundered as he swung at Kakashi. The tip of the sword sliced against his chest, and Kakashi winced.

He put his hand up to the wound and was relieved to find that it was shallow. "I can agree with some of your opinions, but I can't agree with the way you demand change. Change should be made from within, not forced from the outside!**Doton: Doryuuheki**!" Kakashi punched the ground, and a wall of hard earth rose from the ground. Genma, who had finally made his way out of the crowd, slammed his fist into the wall. Genma growled in irritation and began flipping through handsigns to use a jutsu to break the barrier.

Kakashi leaned out of the way as Shirakumo's sword slashed against the rock barrier. "Don't you think I have tried, Hatake-san? For years, I have tried to change this country from the inside. Now, it is time for change to come whether or not the Hokage is ready to receive it!" Kakashi heard a crack in the wall behind him and grabbed Shirakumo by his shirt and flung him backwards.

Genma's jutsu smashed through the wall, sending rubble flying through the air. Shirakumo tumbled through the gap that once held the wall, and Genma barely dodged out of the way as his companion went flying past. Genma shunshined through the wall and dove at Kakashi, three senbon clenched between his fingers. He had to finish the fight quickly. There was no way he would be able to last in a drawn out battle against Kakashi.

Kakashi saw Genma flying towards him and his mind went blank. His body reacted out of instinct and, before he knew it, the word slipped from his mouth, "**Chidori**." He thrust his hand forward and slammed it against Genma's chest. The lightning crackled in the air as the two jounin stood stock still. Brown eyes dropped down to stare at the arm that stuck through his chest. The senbon dropped from his fingers and clattered on the ground.

"I see," Genma mumbled quietly. "I knew you would be trouble, Hatake...san." Genma slumped forward onto Kakashi. The white-haired ninja stared down at his former comrade's limp form and tugged his arm out from Genma. Genma dropped down to the ground, and Kakashi could only stare at the body. Images flashed in his mind that he hadn't seen in a long time.

He lifted a bloodied hand up towards his face. "Rin-chan... I did it again. I did it..." Kakashi took a step back and clamped his eyes shut. He could feel it again as if it were yesterday. He heard the screams of the Kirigakure ninja as he slaughtered them. He could see Rin's body lying on the ground after he had run her through with his chidori. It was all there. Why was it happening all over again? "No..." He had killed another comrade.

"Look out, Hatake-sensei!" The desperate voice called Kakashi back to his senses, and Kakashi shunshined up the stairs as Shirakumo stabbed at the air where he used to stand. Lee scurried beside him, and it was then that Kakashi noticed that the grandstands had completely emptied. When had that happened? Kakashi felt like he was losing his mind now. It was all so muddled. He just wanted to forget everything.

Shirakumo rushed over to Genma's body and felt for his pulse. He hung his head when he felt nothing. Shirakumo sent a venomous glare up at Kakashi and said, "This isn't over." Shirakumo sheathed his sword back over his back and yanked the bandana off of Genma's head. He turned and shunshined out of the stands.

"Should we follow him, Hatake-sensei?" Lee asked. He turned towards the jounin only to pause. Kakashi was still staring at his red hand, but it was the look that disturbed Lee. Kakashi's eyes looked so... dead. "Hatake-sensei?"

"We will report his betrayal to the Hokage and await our orders. Our job is not to kill people, but to protect people." The second sentence sounded more like a question than a statement. Kakashi looked over towards Lee and said, "Why did you come back here?"

Lee started as he remembered what had just happened only a half-hour ago. "Hanagaki-san and Kurenai-sensei are dead. They were killed by-" Lee halted abruptly, remembering that Sasuke was Kakashi's student.

"Tell me, Lee-san," Kakashi demanded coldly. Lee flinched.

"They were killed by Sarutobi Asuma, Aburame Shino, and Uchiha Sasuke," Lee said quickly. He closed his eyes, not wanting to look at Kakashi's face. Kakashi's face was twisted in pain, and he lifted a hand to cover his unmasked skin.

"How many did Uchiha-san kill?" Kakashi croaked.

Lee hesitated before saying, "Hanagaki-san and Kurenai-sensei fell to his hand." At that, Kakashi felt guilt strike him in the chest. So, it was his fault that they were dead. He had given Sasuke too much power without assessing his control. He bit his lip tightly and took in a deep breath.

"Lee-san, follow me. We have to go report." Kakashi knew the rebellion had only just begun, but he had already had enough. How many more of his friends would he kill before the war was over? He didn't even want to know.

-TSUME-

Shoes clattered along the rooftops as the three genin rushed towards the hospital. According to the plan, Naruto and Gaara were supposed to provide backup for the three jounin squads stationed around the hospital. If the hospital went down during the battle, it would be over for their side. It was safe to assume that the rebels had their own medical ward hidden around the city, but their side only had this one. Hiruzen had contemplated setting up another hidden ward, but he also knew it would be a futile effort. It would be nearly impossible to hide the fact that he had set up another base from the rebels that were, no doubt, posing at medic-nin.

"We have to hurry. The hospital is as much of a place to fall back as it is a battleground. The rebels probably dispatched a team to take out the hospital first before any of the other targets. Come on!" Naruto could feel his heart racing in his chest. This was the day they had spent months preparing for, but Naruto couldn't feel any less prepared than he did then. Team Tsume had collected data on dozens of shinobi, and Naruto was pretty sure he could tell apart the rebels from the maybe-allies. But that was one of the problems. The maybe-allies were not definitely allies. What if the situation turned out to be a lot worse than they had projected? What if the day ended in a disaster rather than a success?

"Stop," Gaara said suddenly. Naruto twisted his face in confusion. They needed to hurry rather than slow down. What was Gaara thinking? "Now!" Gaara ordered. Naruto skidded to a stop on one of the shingled buildings, and Gaara waved a hand in the air. A cloud of sand streamed from the gourd on his back and blackened the sky above them. Naruto could hear an angry curse through the wall before Gaara pulled his sand back towards him. It coiled around his arm like a snake and revealed a man dressed in a green kimono.

Hinata stared at the man before saying, "Father." The two Hyuuga meet eyes and shared a long silent stare before Hinata glanced away. The look in her father's eyes told her all that she needed to know. She took in a deep breath and sighed. It seems that her father thought she was that expendable after all. She had sort of hoped that he wouldn't think that, but... Wishing that it was otherwise wouldn't change anything.

Hiashi broke the silence and said, "Hinata, Sabaku-san, you may leave if you wish. My duty doesn't involve you two. If you wish to stay, then it will only bring you more pain than good. It does not bother me, regardless of your choice." Naruto took a step back. Inoichi had warned him that something like this would happen. All of the clan elders knew that Naruto was the Kyuubi. The Kyuubi was a variable, a threat. And in war, all threats had to be eliminated.

"Arrogance will be your downfall," Gaara commented. The rest of the sandy gourd dissolved behind his back and fell down to the ground. Tendrils of sand thrashed in the air, daring Hiashi to attack.

"I should say the same to you, Sabaku-san," Hiashi replied with a hint of amusement.

The sand waved in the air a few seconds more before diving at Hiashi. "It is not arrogance if I am merely stating facts."

**Author's Note: The week has been chaos. I have a big meeting from Sunday to Monday where I have to meet my state's legislators. Essentially, it means that I've been scrambling around all over the place preparing for it. I'm in a panic, and it's not fun at all. Haha! Oh well. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! If you have any questions or concerns about the direction of the story, leave me a message, and I'll answer you however I can.**

**Thank you, Pokepikachu1 for betaing and always encouraging me! ^^ I really appreciate it!**


	40. Worth Saving

Suddenly I grasped what was happening- they were all trying to save me. I never thought I was worth saving.  
**-Albert Borris**

Chapter 39: Worth Saving

It wasn't working. Hinata swerved out of the way of another of her father's strikes and flung her hand out towards one of his chakra points. As had happened over the last dozen tries, Hiashi dodged out of the way. Hinata heard Naruto let out a gutteral yell as he charged at Hiashi. She knew that his attempts to fight would fail too. Her father was just too talented for them. He had been a clan leader for years now, and he even had the Byakugan. There was no way a trio of genin could defeat him. It was too cocky of them to even try.

Hinata gritted her teeth as she ran back into the fray. There had to be something they could do. As a child, she had grown up hearing that destiny had already chosen her path from the beginning. She couldn't believe that. It wasn't her fate to grow up weak and fall to her own father's hands. It couldn't be. The gray world whirled around her as her fist snapped out at Hiashi. Hiashi leaned backwards and grabbed onto Hinata's arm. His hand constricted around her arm as he flung her into the path of Gaara's incoming sand storm. The sand parted around her just before she made contact, and Hinata tumbled across the ground.

Gaara clicked his tongue. He wasn't used to fighting with close range fighters. Both his sister and brother were long range, so he rarely had to worry about injuring them in battle. He realized what a disadvantage it put him in now that he was partnered with Naruto and Hinata. He loathed to admit it, but he was hurting Hinata and Naruto more than Hiashi. His sand had ripped across Hinata's arm, and he knew the blood on her left hand was damaging her arm. He had also managed to blow Naruto a good five feet when Hiashi dodged out of the way. The only one that seemed happy about this situation was the Ichibi.

Gaara gathered a coil of sand into his palm and pushed at Hiashi. The sand flew through the air towards the back of Hiashi's head. Hiashi spared a quick glance over his shoulder before catching Naruto's fist. "This is a waste of my time," Hiashi growled lowly. Using his other hand, Hiashi hit two of Naruto's chakra points before throwing the blonde backwards. The only reason this fight had gone on so long was because he wanted to see if any of the three had any valuable qualities to them. If the rebellion managed to train a Yamanaka in the art of mind walking, they would be able to erase the irritating memories from the genin's system. None of them seemed to have any value though. The Suna boy had a strong offensive capability, but he was a one-trick pony.

His sand moved as if it was alive, and that was what made it predictable. Hiashi didn't need the Byakugan to track its movements. Like a human, it had predictable habits which made it easy to follow and defeat. Hiashi flipped backwards and sent two kunai spiraling at Gaara. As Hiashi predicted, some of the sand split off to protect its master, weakening the strength of the original attack. Hiashi's wooden shoes clattered onto the ground as he landed. "I will end this now. I apologize for drawing out your loss," Hiashi said candidly.

Naruto clung onto his dangling arm before snarling at Hiashi, "Don't think we're done yet!" Secretly, he didn't know what they were going to do. Nothing he had tried seemed to work. He looked over at Gaara who had a deep set frown on his face. Behind Gaara, Hinata was running over towards them. Naruto's training allowed him to notice that she was blinking abnormally quickly. Naruto bit his lip. She was probably tiring and was forcing herself to stay upright. He allowed her ten minutes at most.

"Uzumaki-san, do you remember that jutsu you used in our battle awhile back?" Naruto looked over towards Gaara and gave a quick nod. "I need you to use it. I have an idea, and it would work best if I had you help me."

Naruto called out, "You had better know what you're doing! **Tsuin Tatsumaki no Jutsu**!" Naruto spread his hands apart just as Hiashi shunshined towards them. Naruto grunted as chakra tried to force its way through his arm, but to no avail. His chakra points on his left hand were useless. A lone whirlwind appeared in his right hand, but it was just enough. The sudden current was enough to slow Hiashi for a split-second. It was only half of a second, but it was enough time. Sand stormed into the spiraling wind currents, making small pillars of sand. Naruto struck out with the tornado, and the sand ripped into Hiashi.

The jounin flung off his haori, shielding himself from the torrent and fled back a few feet. As he landed, Hinata struck out behind him, catching him in the elbow. Hiashi grunted as he grabbed Hinata and yanked her in front of him. He spun around on his heels and kicked her into the tornado. Hinata screamed as she was caught in the blast, and Naruto quickly deactivated the jutsu. He caught her in his arms as she fell, and Hinata winced as Gaara forced the sand to drain from her skin.

Her breaths were raspy as she forced herself to sit up. Naruto frowned as she visibly shook from the strain. "I'm sorry. I'm so useless," Hinata said faintly, rubbing a hand against her face. The red smeared across her face, making her dirtier than she had been before. Naruto shook his head and patted her gingerly on the shoulder.

"Don't apologize, Hinata-chan." Naruto looked over to Hiashi and said, "Thanks to you, I think I have an idea. "

-TSUME-

"I have to hurry," Tenten murmured to herself. She pulled Gai farther up her shoulders and took in a deep breath before setting off at a run again. It had been nearly fifteen minutes since the attack on the Hokage box. She had to hurry and bring Gai to the hospital before it was too late. They didn't know what was in the poison, and Gai could die if she didn't arrive soon. She knew that causalities would start streaming into the hospital, so she needed to get Gai on a priority list and quickly.

She glanced over to the main street and grimaced. She had been forced to take the small side streets since the roads were now swarming with panicked civilians. The last thing she wanted was for Gai to be jostled off her shoulders and trampled to death. Tenten would have to continue to go through the side roads. She sighed and pictured the map of Konoha in her head. "This way," she mumbled before running off down another street.

Shadows flashed across the ground in front of her, and Tenten cast a concerned glance above her. She couldn't be sure that the ninja were allies or enemies anymore. Tenten picked up the pace as she sped along the alleys. A shadow shifted in the darkness before her as she grabbed at one of the kunai she hid in her pockets. "Who's there?"

"Tenten-chan? Is that you? What are you doing here?" Ino said as she stepped out from the shadows. Inuzuka Hana walked past Ino and over to Tenten. She rested a hand on Gai's forehead.

Tenten sidestepped away from Hana, causing the older girl to frown slightly. "Hello, Ino-chan. I'm bringing Gai-sensei to the hospital. If you'll excuse me, I'm afraid I don't have the time to chat. He needs medical treatment immediately." She tried to walk by Hana, only to have the older girl hold an arm out in front of Tenten.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that, Tenten-chan. You see, Maito-san needs to come with us," Hana said with a gentle smile on her face. Tenten bit her lip tightly. She was at a great disadvantage. They outnumbered her two to one, and she had to make sure that they couldn't reach Gai. Hana moved towards Tenten, but suddenly, her foot stopped moving. She tried jerking it along, but it remained fast.

"We can't let that happen either, Inuzuka-san." Hana's gaze travelled past Tenten to where Shikamaru stepped out of the shadows with Kei at his side. "We know what you are here for and what your allegiance is. You are coming with us." Hana glared at Shikamaru venomously, and behind her, Ino shifted in the shadows.

She reached behind her back and pulled out a thin sheet of paper from her pack. She flipped it between her fingers and flung it in the air. Light erupted from the seal, and Shikamaru snapped the jutsu shut and covered his eyes. With her eyes closed, Ino ran forward and pushed Hana forwards. Realizing that she had been released from the power of Shikamaru's jutsu, Hana sniffed the air before running towards Tenten. She scented the smell of poison wafting from Gai and snagged his arm before yanking him off of Tenten. She hefted the older man onto his back before taking off down the alleyway with Ino.

Behind them, Ino heard Tenten's yelp of surprise when she realized that Ino and Hana had run off with Gai. Loud barks echoed around the running ninja as they made a mad dash down the thin corridor. Paws thundered beside them as three large huskies joined them. Hana smiled broadly at her nin-dogs. They had perfect timing as usual. "Inuzuka-san." Ino's voice distracted Hana from her thoughts. "Our job is to keep Maito-san out of the hospital for another thirty minutes, right? We just need to distract them for a bit in order to do that."

Hana stared at Ino silently before she nodded. "Give me a moment." Hana skidded to a stop and dropped Gai carelessly against the wall. She coaxed one of her nin-dogs over to her and held her hands cover its shoulders and mumbled, "**Juujin Bunshin**." She pressed her hands down on the husky and a puff of smoke filled the air. Once the smoke cleared, the nin-dog had transformed into a copy of Gai and was lying limply on the ground. Hana wiped a bead of sweat from her brow and lifted the dog off the ground. "I should be able to hold the jutsu for ten to fifteen minutes. It'll be enough for a diversion at least. I would normally be able to hold it longer, but it's easier having the nin-dogs hold bunshins of me rather than of another person."

"It's good that you're able to do this for a little while rather than not at all," Ino said blandly. Ino hurried over towards Gai and slung him over her back. "We'll split here then." Ino was silent for a moment before breaking out into a broad smile. "Best of luck, Inuzuka-san! I'll see you soon, okay?" Ino turned away from Hana and hurried down the dim alleyway. Behind her, Hana huffed and shook her head. She never did understand the blonde, but it seemed as if Ino was more of a mystery than ever now.

"Hey!" A voice called out from the street where Hana and Ino had just left. Hana sighed and bolted away from Ino. A few moments later, Shikamaru, Kei, and Tenten arrived at the intersection where Ino and Hana had just split up. Tenten cursed under her breath as she realized that the two had gone in opposite directions. "Kei-chan and I will go after Hana. You've known Ino-chan for a long time right, Nara-san? You'll have the advantage over her, and it's best that two of us stick to Inuzuka-san. Let's go! We have to hurry and find Gai-sensei!" Tenten grabbed Kei's hand and yanked her along as she sped off after Hana.

Shikamaru sighed and looked down the street where he could just make out Ino's platinum blonde hair shining in the distance. "How troublesome..."

-TSUME-

Shikamaru chased Ino around for a good five minutes before she came to a stop. The wind whipped her hair around as she set Gai down on the edge of the flat rooftop. She had led Shikamaru away from the center of the village. There was no spot that was further away from the hospital than this. Even if Shikamaru managed to defeat her, it would take him at least ten to fifteen minutes to get Gai to the hospital. That meant that Shikamaru would have to take her out in ten minutes to save Gai's life. Ino had confidence in her ability to stall for ten minutes at the very least.

Shikamaru landed on the rooftop behind her and pulled a kunai out of his hip pack. "Ino-chan, why are you doing this? Out of all people, I didn't think that you would side with the rebellion. Do you really hate Konoha that much?" Shikamaru kept his voice even, but inside, his heart was wavering. He hadn't ever been particularly good friends with Ino, but he had spent most of his childhood playing with her. When their fathers had met together, he, Ino, and Chouji had always gone to play with one another. There were a lot of bad memories from those times, but there were also a lot of happy memories, a lot of memories that made it painful to fight against Ino.

Shikamaru's mind was racing. How would he be able to tell Inoichi about his daughter's betrayal? He had seen Inoichi grow increasingly tired and irritable as the days ticked down to the rebellion. It wasn't difficult for Shikamaru to puzzle out that he was worried about his daughter. Any man would be the same in Inoichi's situation, and now, Shikamaru had confirmed the worst possible situation.

"I don't hate Konoha. I could never do that," Ino replied softly. "But I have to do this..." Ino fell silent. After a while, she gave a loud sigh. "I suppose you would never understand though. Your value is already worth twice of what mine is. This is the only way for me to have any value." Ino's shoulders slumped as she stared down at the ground. She scuffed up the dirty rooftop and looked up at the sky. "I don't do these things because I want to, but because I have to."

"You don't have to do anything, Ino-chan! Just give this up, and come back to our side. You're worth more than you think you are. We care for you, Ino-chan, so don't do this!" Shikamaru said, taking a step towards her. Seeing him approach, Ino stepped back and pulled out a kunai.

"I'm in too deep, Shikamaru-kun. But maybe I'll be worth something after this, and people will look at me again!" Ino smiled happily as she twirled her kunai around her hand. "No one will forget about me and leave me again. It won't be like how you left me, daddy left me, and mommy left me. I'll never have to be that way again after this!"

Shikamaru gripped his kunai tightly and clamped his eyes shut. Had Ino really thought that they had all abandoned here? "We never left you, Ino-chan! We had different lives to lead, but we never left you! We all care for you!" It felt weak now that he was saying it. It was nothing compared to what she had to have gone through to turn out like this.

"That's what I thought for months before I realized that none of you would see me anymore! For all you could have cared, I never even existed! No one even bothered to see me in between missions! I was only of temporary value to you all, admit it!" Ino screamed the last words out. She held a hand up to her eyes and bit out, "It won't have to be that way anymore. I am finally going to be worth something, and I can't let you prevent that!"

Shikamaru opened his mouth to protest, but a sudden movement in the corner of his eye caused him to step back. A black figure shunshined onto the rooftop. A painted mask covered the man's face as he stood up and turned towards Ino. "Go to Alpha Point 6. You are needed now." Ino started in surprise before nodding obediently. She cast one last glance at Shikamaru before shunshining away.

With Ino gone, Shikamaru was in a predicament. The ANBU turned back towards Shikamaru and pulled a sword out from behind his back. Shikamaru glanced around the rooftops, trying to think of a plan. He needed to grab Gai and run without being skewered. His mind raced as he tried to think of ideas. There were only three that had any hope of working, and none of the three were preferable. Shikamaru looked back towards the ANBU who was slowly walking towards him and swallowed. He'd go with the second option.

That was when the ANBU suddenly shunshined towards him and thrust his sword into Shikamaru's stomach.

-TSUME-

Hana hugged her dog tightly to her chest as she ducked in and out of the crowd. The throng of panicked civilians surged around her as she made her way into the city. The panic provided her with the perfect cover to avoid being caught by Tenten and Kei. Even if one of the two managed to catch up to her, it was highly unlikely they would be able to hold her down in the swarm.

Hana followed the ground into a large plaza. The crowd thinned out as there were more places to move, and Hana dashed towards the fountain. A lady with a water pitcher stood in the center of the fountain. Hana dashed up to the stone woman. She dropped her nin-dog by the fountain and jumped up onto the center pedestal. She fumbled around the stone layers of the woman's dress before coming upon a sword hilt. She unsheathed the steel sword and whirled around to see Kei and Tenten running towards her.

Hana jumped back down from the pedestal and walked in front of the fake Gai. When the two genin game closer, Hana darted forward and slashed at the two girls. "Haimaru!" The two remaining huskies barked in response to their master's call and lunged at Kei and Tenten. Kei dove away from the first dog, slashing at its hide while she did. Kei groaned when the kunai barely pierced the dog's skin. There was a reason why they were nin-dogs after all.

The husky circled around Kei, barring its gleaming white teeth. Kei pulled out a fistful of senbon from her pouch and took a deep breath. She had heard that dogs could sense fear from humans. If she was nervous, then the dog would probably pick up on it. If it was a nin-dog, she couldn't be too sure whether or not the husky would find her fear empowering. If morale dictated a battle, fear was a foe she couldn't lose to.

Across the plaza, Tenten slammed her nun chucks into the dog, sending it careening to the side. She twirled the nun chucks around before striking at Hana's blade and sending a kick into the older girl's stomach. Tenten was actually sort of glad that there was a small opportunity for her to fight. She had had enough with all the helplessness she had been feeling. She had been helpless to prevent Neji's death, helpless to save Lee from his guilt, and too helpless to save Gai when the snake bunshin exploded. All the aggression had been pent up inside her, and it was just waiting to explode. Hana was as good a target as any. She was a rebel. She was part of the reason why Neji died, Lee cried, and Gai was near death. Tenten would make her pay.

Tenten yanked an extendable staff out from her waist pack and yelled out a battle cry before charging at Hana. Hana grunted as she parried the girl's attacks. She reminded herself that winning the battle wasn't her goal. Her goal was just to delay them. Delay, delay, delay, she had to delay them. She forced Tenten backwards just as one of her dogs tackled Tenten in the stomach. Tenten tumbled backwards and raised the staff above her as the dog's gaping maw came down upon her. Her knuckles whitened as she pushed back against the dog.

An image of Gai lying against the fountain came to her mind, and Tenten felt a rush of energy. She roared and flung the dog off of her. Before it had time to move, Tenten rushed over to it and drove a kunai deep into its chest. The dog yelped in pain, and Tenten hardly had a moment to react before Hana angrily kicked her into the side of the stony fountain. "Haimaru!" Hana bent down by her nin-dog and stroked the side of its head worriedly. The dog panted weakly, and Hana trembled with rage. "You'll pay for that," she growled.

A few feet away, Kei was struggling. She wasn't a close range fighter, and she made no pretenses of being such. Unfortunately, the dog was uncannily good at close range fighting. She ducked out of the way as the dog dived at her yet again. Kei threw senbon towards the dog, but it didn't seem to mind as senbon stuck out of its hide like porcupine needles. Kei heaved in air as she hunched forward slightly. They had spent too much time running to reach the plaza before beginning to fight.

She forced herself upright as the dog came at her again. It gave a thundering howl of rage, and Kei glanced over its shoulder to see one of the dogs lying on the ground with a kunai protruding from its chest. The dog was faster than ever as it lunged towards her. One of its claws dragged across her neck, and Kei gasped as she felt it tear into her skin. She stabbed at its head with the senbon she had in her fist, and it yelped as one of the senbon gouged it in the eye. The dog whimpered and pawed at its eyes as Kei clutched at the side of her neck.

She drew her hand away to see that it was wet with blood. Kei grimaced and forced a spark of green chakra to light her hand. If she was bleeding that much already, the dog had probably hit the carotid artery in her neck. Mending the carotid was no simple task, healing arteries rarely was. To make the situation even worse, she wouldn't be able to see her artery while she worked on it. The plaza they were in was over seven minutes from the hospital. She wouldn't be able to make it even if she ran. Kei spat out a glob of blood and held a glowing hand over her neck. Well, it was better to try than to lay down and die.

**Author's Note: I've been so uninspired recently, but I read all of your kind reviews, so I worked hard to finish the chapter on time. It's unbetaed, so I apologize about that. I finished it about 10 minutes before the deadline. Heh... I need to work on my time management. Well, thanks for reading! :D I hope you enjoyed it! **


	41. Mother of Invention

Necessity is the mother of invention.  
**-Aesop**

Chapter 40: Mother of Invention

Lee glanced over at the man running beside him. Kakashi hadn't said a word since they had left the grandstands. He hadn't told Lee where they were going, nor had he told him what happened. When Lee had seen Genma's body on the ground, he had assumed that Genma had been killed by one of the rebels. The chilling glare he had been sent in return had changed his mind. Lee sped across the streets as Kakashi shunshined every few steps. He was worried about Kakashi, but he didn't know what he could say to make the man feel better. He didn't know if there even was anything to say. Someone had died, and nothing could change that.

Lee bit his lip and sent another nervous look over towards Kakashi. He opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off as a large explosion erupted in the distance. The pair skidded to a stop as a large dust cloud billowed up into the air. "We're going that way," Kakashi said simply, nodding towards the cloud.

"Wait, what?" Lee exclaimed, but Kakashi was already gone. Lee stood there for a second before saying, "This must be the renewal of Kakashi-sensei's youthfulness! I cannot let him down!" Lee took off after Kakashi, who had already made his way out of the city gates. Lee briefly wondered if another country had chosen to attack them at the same time as the rebellion, but his worries were slightly sated when he only saw three people fighting. What didn't sate his fears was the fact that they were fighting in a huge crater, and that Lee distinctly remembered there being more trees in the clearing than there were now.

Lee yelped as a man came flying towards him, and he dropped to the ground as the man slammed into the tree beside him. "Geez. And I thought that the younger generation was supposed to help me in my old age." Jiraiya got up from the ground and gave an "ah" of surprise. "Hatake-kun, Lee-san, hello. You've come awfully late, haven't you? The party already started a while ago!"

"We were occupied," Kakashi replied coldy. Kakashi turned away from Jiraiya and looked at the two ninja standing in the bottom of the crater. Konan watched the three ninja carefully. She recognized Hatake Kakashi, but she didn't know much about the other one. She supposed that meant he was a genin or someone else unimportant.

"Why are we waiting anyways? Let's just go get them!" Hidan yelled, running at the trio. Konan snapped out a hand and grabbed Hidan by his cloak, dragging him to the ground. "Oi! What was that for, idiot?" Konan sent Hidan a chilling glare, and Hidan gulped.

"Let them make the first attack. We are on the lower ground, and we are fighting against a Sannin and Hatake Kakashi. Rushing in would be foolhardy, and we are not pressed for time. Remember our mission," Konan said flatly, crossing her arms over her chest. Hidan gave a loud sigh and slammed the butt of his scythe into the ground.

"All right, all right. I don't see why we have to do such annoying things though. This is so boring!" Hidan complained, rocking back and forth on his heels.

Jiraiya dropped down from the tree limb where he was perched. He wiped a drop of blood off his brow as he walked back over to Kakashi and Lee. "This will become a waiting game unless one of us starts the attack. It might as well be us since we have other places to be," Jiraiya said, stealing a glance at the village. Terrified screams still echoed from over the looming wall, and Jiraiya knew they would persist for a long time yet unless they acted soon. "Lee-san, these opponents aren't any ordinary ninja. I would advise you stay back and try not to get hurt."

"With all due respect, Jiraiya-sama, I am not an ordinary ninja either." Lee grinned cheerfully and gave Jiraiya a thumbs up. Jiraiya laughed loudly and shook his head.

"That's right, you aren't. Be careful though. Now then," Jiraiya turned back to the two ninja in the crater and cracked his knuckles. "Time for round two."

-TSUME-

Naruto had a plan. Well, he hoped that he had a plan. It wasn't a fully formed plan by any means, but he had to act confident to make the others trust him. If he appeared to be unsure of himself, they probably wouldn't agree to try his plan. Naruto's heart pounded in his chest, and he took in a deep breath. He pictured the Kyuubi in his mind and called out for Kurama, hoping the tailed-beast would answer. He felt nervous enough to clear the fog that allowed Kurama to talk to him, but if Kurama didn't respond, he didn't know what he would do.

**You've called, sir? Screw that. Do you realize how annoying it is to have a second seal slammed on you by a stupid bratty girl? No, you don't. I've tried and tried to call you out on your stupidity, but no! I can't! I'm stuck in this cramped little apartment waiting to answer to your pathetic "beck and call" because she slapped something on making it so I can't reach out to talk to you myself! How could you do something so stupid without consulting me first?** Naruto flinched. He had forgotten that he hadn't talked to the Kyuubi since Kei had put her second seal on him. **Darn right, we haven't talked. And I wonder why that is!**

Naruto held back the urge to argue with the Kyuubi, but he didn't have the time. He needed to know whether or not the Kyuubi could help him with his chakra control. **I can help you, but you'll have to let me pump more of my chakra into your chakra flow. **Naruto blinked. What did Kurama mean by that? **We're separate entities, fool. We both create our own chakra. It's not as if we're fused together. I'm sealed inside of you, but don't confuse the two. It would be just like you to do something that idiotic though. We both funnel chakra into the same chakra center, your heart, where it mixes together and then begins circulating around your body. I normally have set amount of chakra I send to your heart, but I can force more into you to allow me more control over the chakra mix. **

Naruto didn't really want to have more of Kurama's chakra flowing through him, but he needed more control than he had if this plan was going to work. He'd have to let Kurama do it. **Heh. Don't sound so reluctant now. It's been done already. I've let more of my chakra into your system, so it'll be ready to go in about 75 seconds. **Phew, that was one less thing for Naruto to worry about. "Hinata-chan, I need you to help me out. It's really important that you'll be able to do this." Hinata's eyes lit up, and she gave a nod. "You see that intersection over there?" Naruto pointed at a cross street a few feet away from where they stood. "I need you to get Hyuuga-san into that intersection in a few minutes. Can you do it?"

"I'll try-, I'll definitely do it!" Hinata said, trying to quiet her nerves. She clapped herself on her cheeks and turned to face Hiashi. This was war, she told herself. Failure wasn't an option. If she tried, she'd die. She had to succeed. As Hinata ran off towards Hiashi, Gaara shook his head.

"She won't last longer than ten minutes without any help. This is suicide," Gaara said cryptically. He didn't know the girl that well, but he didn't like the idea of needless death. Hinata didn't have the capacity to face an opponent who used the same style as her, but who had five times her experience.

"I know that," Naruto said simply. "That is why she won't be alone, and she won't be fighting him. She's leading him in this direction, not fighting him. Now come on, we need to prepare for our half of the plan as well. If we fail her, then it'll be our fault she is dead, not hers. Follow me." Naruto turned away from Hinata and ran towards the intersection. Gaara frowned at Naruto's back and cast a look back at Hinata. Seeing the girl preparing to face off with Hiashi, he reluctantly followed after Naruto. He gave a quick snap of his fingers, and a small part of his sand detached from the rest and floated back to keep an eye on Hinata.

-TSUME-

The sword slid out of his stomach, and Shikamaru clasped a hand over the wound before falling forwards. The ANBU towered over him and nudged him slightly with the tip of his shoe. The ANBU snorted as Shikamaru curled up around his stomach. Shikamaru rolled over to face the ANBU and sent him a weak glare. He breathed heavily, sending small waves across the pool of blood that was gathering around his chest. He didn't have much time left. If he was going to do anything, he had to do it quickly.

He tucked his legs tighter up to his chest and winced as pain bolted down his side. This was hurting just as much as he expected it to. "It's a pity that I have to kill you. Nara-san has always been a great comrade, but I suppose that doesn't matter anymore. I have new comrades now." Shikamaru's heart raced as he saw the sword's shadow cross above him. He'd have to move quickly. He shifted his knee closer to him so that his hands would be out of the ANBU's line of sight. His hands flew through the handsigns just as the pool of blood brushed up against the man's shoes. It was now or never.

"**Kagemane no Jutsu**," Shikamaru gasped weakly. The ANBU heard nothing as he raised the sword above his head, preparing to swing down upon the other boy. Shikamaru's shadow thinned itself out as it crawled along beside the pillar of red. It hide itself carefully along the thing corridor which the blood allowed it, just barely keeping out of sight. Shikamaru clamped one eye shut, trying to hold his concentration as the Kagemane weaved ever closer to the ANBU.

"Goodbye." Shikamaru sent a flash of chakra into the jutsu, and the Kagemane darted forward, attaching itself onto the heel of the ANBU. The sword stopped a few inches above Shikamaru's neck, and the genin edged himself slowly out of the way. Shikamaru cried out as the ANBU sent erratic chakra charges out, trying to disrupt the jutsu. Shikamaru sent a glance over towards Gai and grunted. He couldn't just abandon Gai. He wobbled up to his feet before stumbling backwards into the rooftop wall. He looked at the small ledge before looking back over towards the ANBU who stood just a bit to the left of him.

Shikamaru forced more chakra into the jutsu and prayed that it wouldn't give in within the next thirty second. He turned to the left and began running. The ANBU's body mimicked Shikamaru's movements, and they began running across the roof. Just as Shikamaru reached the edge of the roof, he jumped forward and landed sloppily on the edge of the roof. Unfortunately, the ANBU did not have that luxury. The roof vanished beneath him as his body rocketed off the edge of the building. The black shadow that linked Shikamaru to the ANBU was clearly visible now, but Shikamaru could tell that the connection to the ANBU was weaker than it was before.

Shikamaru dropped to one knee as a wave of nausea swept over him. His closed both his eyes and poured the last of his energy into the jutsu. A few seconds later, Shikamaru heard a dull thump. It was over. Shikamaru stumbled up to his feet before falling back down on the roof. He looked up to where Gai was still slumped against the wall. He needed to get Gai to the hospital. His muscles strained as he tried to force himself to move, but his body refused to comply. Coughed wracked his body as he clutched at the sword wound in his chest.

There had to be some way to get both him and Gai to the hospital. Shikamaru tried to think, but his mind was clouded by fog. Nothing was coming to mind. Shikamaru leaned his head against the ground weakly and sighed. Had he failed after all?

"Good grief. You're a mess." A female voice dragged Shikamaru out of his haze, and Shikamaru blearily opened his eyes. Fiery red hair filled his vision as the unknown woman knelt over his stomach. "It's a wonder you aren't dead, but I'm not sure if it wouldn't be better if you were dead. It would depopulate the world of reckless idiots." The woman put her hands together over Shikamaru's stomach and mumbled a few words under her breath. Her hands glowed green, and Shikamaru felt an unfamiliar chakra make its way into his chest. She was healing him, but why?

"Who are you?" Shikamaru rasped out.

"You can call me Karin, but please be quiet. I'll tell you what I know as long as you stop moving. For goodness sakes, stop trying to squirm around!" Karin elbowed Shikamaru so he lay flat on the ground. The bespectacled girl shook her head and sighed, "Kusagakure has allied with the loyalist Konohagakure forces. It's not in my interests for you to die now. I'd get in trouble later if you did, so don't do anything more idiotic than you have already done."

"But Gai-sensei needs he-" Shikamaru protested, but Karin shoved him back to the ground and sent him a glare. She sniffed and turned back to her work.

"If you mean the man in the green jumpsuit, horrid clothing by the way, my teammates are already bringing him to the hospital. You're going to the hospital too as soon as I finish the first aid. And it's with great relief that I announce that you're not going to bleed to death on the way to the hospital," Karin said callously. The green light vanished around her fingers, and she poked the wound, causing Shikamaru to flinch. "It's not bleeding anymore, so we had better get going."

Karin stared at Shikamaru for a moment before sighing. "I'm going to have to carry you, aren't I? This sucks."

-TSUME-

Kei clutched at her neck as she tried to remember the exact composition of the carotid artery. She struggled to remember what angle it ran up her neck, the atoms that made up the walls that surrounded the artery, and the pressure the wall would have to sustain in order for it to be a proper temporary fix. Unfortunately for her, she hadn't had much practice dealing with neck injuries. She had read books on arm and chest injuries, since those tended to be more common, but this was something she hadn't expected. She couldn't afford to mess up, and that was what made her worried. No, she couldn't think about anything else right now. She had to focus on healing herself.

Kei pictured an image of her textbook in her mind as she felt along her neck. She could make some guess-estimates about the width of her carotid based on the size of the untouched artery, but she wouldn't be able to translate what she felt into an accurate set of statistics. Since she wouldn't be able to tell the exact width, it would be harder to know how much extra skin to create in order for the blood not to crack through the wall. Kei wheezed in a breath and set to work on her neck. She closed her eyes and tried to heal with her right hand while feeling around with her left hand.

She proceeded to slowly mend her artery, and she could feel the blood flow from her neck slow down. At the very least, she had bought herself a few more minutes. Sadly, she could also feel her mind beginning to stumble. She clamped her eyes shut as she tried to concentrate. She only had a little bit left to do around the branch from the brachiocephalic trunk into the carotid. And that was when she made her mistake. Kei lurched forward and gave a hacking cough, spitting blood out of her mouth. "Shoot." Kei shot more chakra into her hand, and ripped open the work she had just completed in her neck. Kei grunted and retraced back over her work, trying to make up for lost time.

Just a little bit away from her, Tenten flipped out of the way of Hana's sword as it swung down from above. They had been dancing around like this for a while now, and Tenten didn't want to waste any more time. She had to find Gai and save Kei. Tenten fished into her left pouch and pulled out a storage seal. She flung the seal behind her and ducked as the last Haimaru triplet dived above her head. She punched the dog's underbelly as it went over her, and it gave a loud yelp of surprise. Hana ran over beside her dog and yelled out, "Haimaru, **Juujin Bunshin**!" A cloud of smoke rose into the air, and Tenten took it as her cue to break off in a run towards her seal.

A replica of Hana appeared in place of the husky, and Hana smirked. She lowered herself down onto all fours and growled out, "**Shikyaku no Jutsu**." A thin blue aura surrounded Hana, and the girl gnashed her teeth as the jutsu took over her body. She could feel energy pulsing through her veins. Tenten wouldn't stand a chance. She and Haimaru darted at Tenten, who had just reached her seal. Tenten slammed her hand down on the seal, causing a large scroll to appear in its place. Tenten looked over her shoulder and gave an undignified scream as she saw Hana and Haimaru running towards her. She snatched the end of the scroll and unfurled it before dragging the scroll around her, surrounding herself in a paper cone. Thousands of ink markings were etched onto the outside of the scroll, and a single seal rested on the inside where Tenten stood. Tenten hurriedly brought chakra into her fist and slammed it firmly against the seal, causing it to activate.

The seals on the outside of the scroll let out a thin trail of smoke just as Hana and Haimaru leapt at Tenten. Thousands of senbon stuck out of the seal, surrounding Tenten in a coat of metal spikes. Hana's eyes widened as she tried to maneuver out of the way, but it was too late. Both she and Haimaru were already stuck in the air, and there was nothing they could do to move. She shifted her arms in front of her just as she crashed into the senbon, but even that did not stop the pain that jolted through her body.

After a few moments, she wrenched herself off of the senbon and stumbled back onto the ground. Her muscles screamed at her, and she knew that some had the senbon had gone deeper than they should have, pushed in by the speed granted to her by the Shikyaku. She collapsed backwards, her head hitting the ground hard. She tilted her head over to the side where she saw her last Haimaru triplet rest limply on the spiny tower. A red hot tear pricked at the corner of Hana's eye as a shadow loomed cover her. "Haimaru triplets, I'm so sorry," Hana whispered. She closed her eyes as a sword descended down on top of her, stabbing her in the heart.

Above her, Hayate withdrew his sword and slid it back in its sheath. Hayate sighed. He hated to do it, but his actions had put her out of her misery. The loss of her partners would have been enough to mentally scar her even if her wounds had been less. In all likelihood, she would have a hard time moving her left arm at all even if she had lived. Hayate looked over to where Kei lay on the ground, barely awake. The girl had managed to create a patch for her neck, but her artery had already bled out too much. The blood loss combined with her weak chakra circuit made it difficult for her to stay awake. Hayate ran over to her and scooped her up in his arms. "Hayate-sensei?" Tenten said softly as she let the scroll fall to her feet. She looked over at Hana with a horrified look on her face before turning away, forcing herself to look at Hayate. A deep guilt stirred inside of her, but she couldn't think of that now. She only did what had to be done.

"Come with me, Tenten-san. We need to bring Shimizu-san to the hospital," Hayate said, motioning for Tenten to follow after him.

"But what about Gai-sensei? I have to find him!" Tenten protested.

"He's already been found, Tenten-san. Now hurry! We can talk about this later." Despite everything that had happened that day, Hayate's words were music to Tenten's ears. She gave a quick nod and followed after Hayate as the three hurried off to the hospital.

**Author's Note: Before any of you call me out on Karin continuity errors, I have thought this through. Yes, I do realize that Orochimaru had already made contact with her by the time she entered in the chuunin exams, but she was only a jailer for him. She wasn't important to him and was likely not involved in any of his important plans(i.e. the rebellion). She probably resumed her life as a genin of Kusagakure while also working as a jailer for Orochimaru. She would have no idea what Orochimaru was planning. I hope that clears up a bit of the confusion. (: **

**I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I apologize for drawing out Naruto's battle, but I swear that there will be more development on Naruto's end in the next chapter. I hope you enjoyed the Naruto-Kurama dynamic though. Thanks for reading! :D**


	42. Opportunities Multiply

Opportunities multiply as they are seized.  
**-Sun Tzu**

Chapter 41: Opportunities Multiply

Hiashi had to admit he was a bit curious with what the genin would come up with. It wasn't as if he didn't have the time to wait and see what they would come up with. His mission was to stall and debilitate the Kyuubi container and nothing else. They had adequate man-power to defeat the loyalists at all of the major checkpoints, and it was up to Hiashi to decide whether or not he wanted to involve himself in any other conflicts. Maybe his daughter would prove that she had an ounce of potential. If she did, he would consider just having her imprisoned rather than her becoming an inconspicuous casualty of war.

After a minute or so, the three genin separated. Hiashi raised an eyebrow when he saw only his daughter coming towards him. Hiashi frowned. He realized that his daughter was perfectly useless, but he had rather hoped that she would be used as something more than cannon fodder. He gave a small sigh and shook his head. He would just have to deal with this in stride. It wasn't as if he could complain to them about their atrocious plan, if there was one at all.

Hiashi walked slowly towards her as the young girl ran at him. As soon as she was within striking distance, Hiashi stabbed at her right arm socket. Hinata hit his arm out of the way and flipped backwards, striking at his head with her foot. Hiashi leaned out of the way and grabbed her leg, about to throw her again. Hinata pulled herself up with her leg in Hiashi's hold and kicked at his head with her other leg. Hiashi's hand snapped out and snagged her other leg, and Hinata twisted in his grip.

She arched her body backwards and blindly struck at Hiashi's legs. Her elbow crashed backwards into Hiashi's left knee cap, and she gave a yelp as her left arm suddenly went numb. Hiashi's hold on her immediately released, and she tumbled to the ground. She took the brief opening to hit three of the tenketsu in her father's legs before scrambling away. Hiashi threw three senbon at her, and Hinata easily maneuvered out of the way. Hinata knew that her flexibility was probably the only up she had on her father.

Hiashi had skill, he had experience, but his bones weren't made the same ways hers were. She could bend herself into all sorts of forms that would injure Hiashi if he even tried. Hinata knew that she had to take advantage of that if she was going to get Hiashi all the way to the round-about. She glanced past Hiashi and saw the scuffed up dirt trail that they had left. Hinata let out a small sigh. She had got him at the first seven feet over, so she only had a bit more to go.

Hinata watched warily as her father brushed himself off. A certain spark entered Hiashi's eyes, and Hinata knew that meant trouble. Her father was angry, really really angry. "Stupid girl. You'll regret that." Hinata knew that she would eventually, but she only hoped that she could put off that regret for as long as possible. Hiashi rushed at her, and Hinata stepped out of the way. After her first brawl with Hiashi, she realized that she wouldn't have any hope if she tried to face off with him directly. Neji would have been able to put up reasonable resistance against Hiashi's punches, but Hinata didn't have that kind of skill.

The thought of her deceased cousin made her heart twinge with sadness before anger bubbled up into her chest. If Neji had been killed by the rebels, then her father had been involved in his death. Hinata's speed increased as she continued to swerve out of the way of Hiashi's strikes. As Hinata danced out of the way, she threw senbon at Hiashi. Hinata wasn't a master strategist by any means, but she knew enough to be able to buy her time to reach Naruto's checkpoint. The senbon she threw weren't supposed to hit Hiashi. It would be impossible to hit him with her skills. Their job was to force Hiashi out of making certain strikes that would debilitate her. As long as she could prevent him from making crippling strikes, she could bear the rest of the blows.

Finally, Hiashi slammed a palm into Hinata's chest, causing the girl to fly backwards. She tumbled across the ground before jolting up to her feet. A quick look around her told her that she had reached the intersection. Hinata's heart pounded in her chest as she set herself down into her fighting pose, beckoning her father on. Hiashi rushed towards her, and Hinata caught sight of a flash of yellow. Naruto.

Naruto rubbed his hands together. He had hidden around the street corner in order to prevent Hiashi from seeing him until he reached the intersection. Gaara had already completed his part of the mission and had dropped clumps of sand all around the intersection in addition to laying a thin sand coating along the ground. The layer was so thin that Naruto doubted that the Hyuuga clan leader would notice before Naruto's plan was already underway.

He closed his eyes and called on the Kyuubi. **You ready for this, Naruto-brat? I checked you over, and in order for this stupid plan of yours to work, I'm going to need to wrench open the closed tenketsu in your shoulder. I already have enough control of your chakra system, but you'll feel it. **Naruto took in a deep breath and bit his lip. Kurama hummed in his mind before sending a bolt of chakra through the closed tenketsu. Naruto dropped onto his knees as the chakra points were opened, and Naruto had to stop himself from screaming even after it was over.

**You okay, brat? **Naruto breathed heavily but mumbled, "I told you to stop calling me that." **You're all right. Good. The old man is in the target area. Get your butt moving, and I'll help you. I won't control your limbs unless you ask me to, but that doesn't mean you can rest while I do all the work!** Naruto clicked his tongue and whacked the side of his head. Kurama was way too loud sometimes. **You realize that I hear what you think, right?**

Naruto crept up to the edge of the street corner and quickly signed through the jutsu before whispering, "**Tsuin Tatsumaki no Jutsu!**" The two whirlwinds blew to life in his palms, causing the two fighting ninja to stall as the storm kicked up in the alley. Hinata, realizing that this was her cue, shunshined away from Hiashi and towards the street where Naruto was hiding. Naruto ran out of the alleyway and held both of his hands before him.

Hiashi scoffed. "I won't fall for the same trick twice, boy. Did you really think that would work? It's demeaning." Naruto smiled back at Hiashi.

"It's demeaning to me that you think I'm dumb enough to not improve!" Naruto flung his hands apart and a faint blue glow appeared in the palms of his hands. The glow flashed brightly and suddenly, the whirlwinds shot away from his palms. The tornados danced around Hiashi, zigzagging around him in a torrent of wind and sand. The carefully laid sand trap that Gaara had placed in the intersection tore through the air, slicing at Hiashi. Thin blue chakra cords stretched from the palms of Naruto's hands to the whirlwinds as they moved aroud.

Naruto gritted his teeth as the Kyuubi manipulated his chakra reserves to keep the chakra cords intact. The only reason the two whirlwinds were able to detach from his body was because Naruto had changed the tornados' energy source. The jutsu normally worked by funneling Naruto's chakra directly from his body, but Naruto realized that as long as the jutsu received enough chakra that it should be able to move freely from his body. Naruto knew that his chakra control was exceptionally weak, so he had been forced to call upon the Kyuubi for help. Even so, he could feel the strain that it was putting on both of them. The Kyuubi was used to large, explosive jutsu, not ones that required careful control.

Naruto glanced behind him and saw Hinata looking on with awestruck eyes. "Hinata-chan, I can't do this for very long. I need you to go with Sabaku-san and look for another jounin. Sabaku-san knows some of the faces of the jounin that are on our side." Hinata snapped out of her daze and stared at Naruto's incredulously.

"I can't just leave you, Naruto-san! What will you do when you have to drop the jutsu?" Hinata protested. "You'll be vulnerable to attack!"

"I'm a pretty good runner," Naruto said with a cheeky wink. The smile dropped off of his face, and he nodded across the intersection to where Hinata could see Gaara standing. "Now hurry! Waiting like this isn't going to get the backup to me any sooner!" Hinata looked at Naruto before looking to Gaara. Hinata lowered her head slightly before giving a hurried nod.

"We'll be back soon! Just hold on!" Hinata ran around the current of swirling air and joined up with Gaara. Naruto watched as the two spoke for a moment before running off. Naruto gave a small sigh of relief and closed his eyes. Now, he could finally execute the second part of his plan. **What plan are you talking abou-... Ahh, I see, Naruto-brat. Heh. I like this plan much better.** When Naruto opened his eyes, they were surrounded by a glowing red ring.

-TSUME-

Shadows danced across the stone walls as the candles flickered. Two sets of eyes drifted towards the doorway as a gust of cold air entered the room. Ino gently shut the door behind her and looked nervously towards the two men standing in the middle of the room. "You're late," Danzo commented. Ino swallowed. The words themselves seemed like they held no hatred, but Ino could hear the annoyance seething in his voice.

"I apologize, Danzo-sama. I was delayed." Ino bowed at the waist before scurrying over to where Danzo stood. She glanced up towards the other man who had a black hood over his face. A pair of green-rimmed glasses was all she could see before she shuffled past. She bit her lip tightly. Was she doing the right thing? Shikamaru seemed to think that she wasn't, but no, he had abandoned her. This was her redemption, and no one would want her redemption other than her. She had to fight for it, right?

"I'm surprised something could delay you from such an important mission, but I assume that you know more than I." Ino cringed. Well, it was a particularly bad time to think about the consequences of what she was doing. She just had to do it and think of nothing else. She peered into the gloom to see a limp figure collapsed against a wooden chair. Black belts clamped his arms and legs to the chair, and a metal frame kept his head in place. Orochimaru's pale white skin almost glowed in comparison to the darkness that surrounded him. Ino felt a chill run up her back as she stepped closer towards the man.

"Don't waste any more time than you have to. Our mission is one that is of the utmost importance, and time is of the essence. This must be completed before we finish the other steps of our plan do you understand?" Danzo paused before grudgingly adding, "Only you can complete this mission, Yamanaka-san. Make sure you do it well. You have ten minutes." The words, no matter how little Danzo wanted to say them, cheered Ino. She took in a deep breath and nodded.

She reached a fair-skinned hand out to touch the side of Orochimaru's face. Suddenly, another bolt of cold air rushed into the room. Ino jumped in surprise as three more figures stormed into the room. The man with the green-rimmed glasses turned towards the door and growled, "What are you doing here?" His voice sounded like the creak of a rusted door as he spoke, his glasses glinting in the candlelight.

"I should have known you were up to something, Homura-kun!" Koharu rested her hand on the doorframe as she drew breath into her lungs. She had had her suspicions that Homura had been planning something under her watch, but it was only when Konoha erupted into chaos that her suspicions were confirmed. It had taken her a few minutes to round up some ninja to come with her before she descended into the underground. If there was anything that Homura wanted to hide, Koharu knew it would have to be in the underground. They had found the tunnels when they were genin decades ago, but as both of them rose in influence, they had abandoned the tunnels for the streets. Koharu never forgot them though.

In her youth, Koharu had some talent as a sensor, and she was proud to say that her talents hadn't dulled completely. She wasn't highly talented, but she was proficient enough to captures traces of Homura's chakra and hunt him down. It pained her now to see her long-time teammate skulking in the darkness, but she was a ninja. She refused to be weak. Koharu squinted through the darkness and saw the shackled form of Orochimaru and Ino who stood beside him. "Get away from that man, girl!" Koharu ordered, causing Ino to instinctively step back.

Danzo frowned and yelled, "Continue your mission! They are of no importance to you. The only thing important for you is your mission. Do it now!" Ino nodded hurriedly and placed both of her hands on the side of Orochimaru's head before resting her forehead against his. Koharu immediately recognized the jutsu and opened her mouth to call out, but one of her comrades beat her to it.

"Ino-chan, stop it! It's too dangerous for you!" Anko dashed into the room, making a beeline for the girl. Ino was the girl who always came to bring her father lunch when he forgot it at home. She was the little girl that Inoichi valued just as much as his own life. There was no way Anko was about to let her dive into the mind of a psychotic mass-murderer!

"I'm sorry, Mitaraishi-san, but I'm afraid that is not up to you." Danzo shunshined in front of Anko and swiped her legs out from under her. Anko grunted as she fell backward. She dropped her hands beneath her and sprung backwards as Danzo punched at the place she once was. Anko stepped back and let out a low hiss.

"Haven't you heard? It's not a good idea to make a lady angry. Get out of my way or I'll kill you as you stand," Anko gritted out. She flipped a kunai out from her kunai pouch and brandished it in front of her. Her eyes glanced over to Ino, and she frowned. Ino had already entered Orochimaru's brainspace. It would be a pain to try and drag her out now. Anko's gaze shifted to the smaller boy behind her. He might be able to do something if he was anything like his grandfather.

Teru had shrunk back against the door and looked like he wanted to disappear. Teru knew he wasn't a fighter. Heck, he didn't even have the gumption to think of himself as a ninja in the first place. It was a great way to get people to fall on their feet and say that they loved you, but fighting wasn't really his thing. So when he saw Anko smile cruelly at him, his heart fell into his stomach. "Crap." It was the only thing that came to mind.

"Boya, I've heard great things about you... Or your grandfather at least. I'm hoping that talent is at least partially hereditary." Teru thought back a few generations to his grandfather. He didn't remember anything particularly great about the old man. He hadn't been a ninja or anything, but he had studied chakra-related sciences for medicinal purposes. "Ino has inserted an overwhelming amount of chakra into Orochimaru's head area in over to overwhelm his own chakra's control. We want her out of there. You savvy?"

Teru blinked slowly as the gears slowly turned in his mind. Anko grunted with annoyance and turned back towards Danzo. She would just have to hope that he would get what she was saying otherwise it would be a nuisance. She couldn't just scream her plans out for the entire world to hear, but it seemed as if genin intelligence was in decline. "Obaa-chan," Anko said, looking over at Koharu. "Can you take care of the Ojii-san over there? I'll get the mummy if you can get him."

Koharu chortled. "I am a relic, but I'm not a useless one. I will take care of Homura-kun for you." Koharu squinted towards Homura and let coldness set into her features. "I'll take care of him." She reached up and pulled the hair needle from her hair and let the locks fall down beside her face. The beads jangled as they tumbled around, and Koharu gave a grim smile. She hadn't fought for a long, long time.

Behind her, Teru finally realized that Anko was trying to say. "But I can't do that!" Teru jumped at Anko's venomous glare and amended his statement to, "I think I can remember how to do it. I'll try, Mitaraishi-san!" Anko gave a satisfied nod before turning back to Danzo. A broad grin grew across her face as she looked at the older man.

"I'm coming to kick your butt, Ojii-san! You had better be prepared!"

-TSUME-

Jiraiya rubbed his hands together excitedly. "Let's get this party started!" He clapped his hands together and yelled, "**Ranjishigami no Jutsu**!" Lee yelped and jumped away from him as his hair sudden pricked up. White strands of hair coiled up in the air before spiraling down at the two S-rank ninja. Konan leaped out of the way as the hair stabbed into the ground. Some hair split off towards her, and Konan clicked her tongue. She flipped backwards in mid-air and sent explosive tags flying towards the hair. The tags collided with the jutsu, exploding on impact. However, this was not enough to prevent the oncoming attack. Konan landed on the ground and held her hands above her head.

Paper tags leafed off her body and collected above her head to form a paper chakram. The ring spun above her head, and the edges gleamed in the sun. She jumped out of the way as the hair crashed into the ground and flung the chakram at the white mass, slicing it right down the center. Konan held out another arm and more tags formed around it in a ring. That was when she heard the sound of air moving behind her, and she whirled around and sliced the air with the chakram. Kakashi leaned out of the way and whispered, "**Raikiri**."

He gripped his right arm tightly as blinding white electricity crackled in his hand. He swung at Konan, and she hissed as the jutsu burnt her across the chest. She signed quickly and shunshined off to the side, leaving her paper clone to fight with Kakashi. Kakashi's left eye whirred as his sharigan recognized the clone. He growled and smashed the clone with his raikiri. The clone glowed slightly, and Kakashi shunshined back as the clone exploded. He crashed back into a nearby tree and groaned as he slipped down to the trunk.

Kakashi's eyes widened, and he dodged out of the way as a red blur sawed the tree in half. "Rahh! How annoying!" Hidan complained as he sliced at Kakashi again. Kakashi flipped backwards and sent two kunai at Hidan, who stared blankly as one of the kunai embedded itself in his head. "Ow!" Hidan plucked the kunai from his forehead and gave it a good glare before flinging it back at Kakashi.

From behind a tree, Lee watched Kakashi with morbid interest. He took in a deep breath before saying, "Yosh! With all of this youthful spirit in the air, I can't just sit back!" He had decided to wait a few moments to figure out what Jiraiya meant by "they aren't ordinary ninja", but now he thought he understood. Lee took in a deep breath and shook his arms out before clapping his hands together. "First Gate, open!"

Energy flooded his system, and Lee roared as he dived at Hidan. Hidan's head whipped over to the side just in time to see Lee's foot. Hidan soared through the air, and Lee grinned. "I'm not done yet!" He leaped after Hidan and punched him in the stomach, sending Hidan spiraling past Konan and Jiraiya. Konan's eyes widened as she ducked out of the way to avoid Hidan as he smashed into the ground.

Did the genin of Konoha have that kind of power? Konan frowned as she waved her arm at Lee, sending a cloud of explosive notes at him. "Yipes!" Lee yelped as he jumped out of the way. A few of the notes crashed into the ground, but a majority swerved out of the way just before impact and continued the chase. Lee picked up the pace as he tried to think of how to get rid of the notes. "Aieeee!"

"Get down!" Lee covered his head and ducked as Jiraiya jumped over him and in the way of the notes. Jiraiya took a deep breath in before blowing out, breathing fire at the notes. Explosions filled the forest, causing Jiraiya and Lee to madly dash out of the way.

"Thank you, Jiraiya-sama!" Lee yelled as he continued on his mad dash. He looked around quickly before catching sight of his earlier target. As Lee ran off to reengage Hidan, Kakashi ran towards Konan.

"**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**!" Kakashi yelled as he signed. A puff of smoke appeared beside him, and the two Kakashi's ran at Konan. They sped up as they reached the Akatsuki member and weaved in and out of each other. Konan gritted her teeth as she lost track of which was which. She flung paper notes at the two figures, but they split apart to attack her on either side. Konan put up two paper shields as she tried to deflect the attacks. She sliced at one of the forms only to have it pop into oblivion. Her eyes widened as she tried to jump back, but it was too late.

"**Gamayudan**!" Jiraiya spat out a stream of brown oil. Konan just barely put up a layer of defense around her back as the jutsu hit. The oil seeped into all of the paper notes on her torso and head, and Konan tumbled to the ground. She shakily got up from the ground and recounted her losses. Konan wiped her mouth and glared at her former sensei as she realized that at least eighty percent of her paper notes were now unusable. "I know your strength and your weaknesses, Konan. You've changed a lot since I last saw you, but some things will never change," Jiraiya said with a shake of his head.

Konan gritted her teeth. She had changed since Yahiko died, but it was Jiraiya that had stayed the same. He had stayed so irritatingly the same. Her face turned cold as she stared back at Jiraiya. "Come at me, _Sensei_!" Konan hissed the name out as notes began peeling off her back and reforming into two chakrams behind her. "I'll show you how much I've grown."

**Author's Note: When I set out to writing the final battle scene, I was pretty worried about how it would turn out. There were punches flying and jutsu blasting all over the place, but I think it turned out pretty well! I hope you guys think the same! ^^ Recently, I've been in a writing slump, so it was getting harder and harder for me to write. I wasn't enjoying writing very much at all then. ): I think I've worked my way out of it, so I'll try to work more on these chapters for you all!**

**I wasn't able to get this betaed in time for the update, so if you see any problems just let me know! Thanks for reading! **


	43. It Ain't So

Truth is mighty and will prevail. There is nothing wrong with this, except that it ain't so.  
**-Mark Twain**

Chapter 42: It Ain't So

"It's okay, shortie. We're here to protect you, so you can stop crying. I'm sure your parents are just fine," Temari said as she awkwardly patted the bawling girl on the top of the head. The brunette couldn't have been older than seven or eight, and she was already experiencing her first civil war. Temari wasn't very good with children, but she did feel pretty bad for the young girl. No one deserved to be thrown into a situation like this, especially when they were so young. Temari glanced around the room at all of the other children whom she and her brother had herded to the back a few minutes ago.

She, Baki, and Kankuro had been assigned to help the ninja that were protecting the Academy and the Hokage office. The ninja squad that had been stationed outside the Academy told them to deal with the children. It was understandable. No foreign nation would be welcome to protect a room full of highly confidential documents, but Temari couldn't help but feel a little off put at the fact that they didn't think it was necessary to have more people protecting the Academy while there were still dozens of kids inside. Temari sighed. At least it meant that Konoha trusted Suna enough to let them protect the kids. If Suna wasn't trusted, then they would have been exiled to protect some dingy base in the middle of nowhere.

"Oi, Temari! Come on out of there! There are hostiles incoming!" Kankuro's voice called from outside. Temari swallowed and patted the young girl one more time on the head before standing up. She brushed her knees off and walked over to the doorway. She paused and rested her hand on the doorway. "I'll be back soon, okay, kiddo? Just sit tight."

Temari gave a soft smile before marching out the door. She slammed the door behind her, latching the lock into place. She exhaled sharply and smacked herself firmly on the cheeks. What was with her anyways? She couldn't be so weak and sentimental right now. If she was actually going to protect anyone, she had to kick into high gear! Temari took off into a run down the halls, her feet thundering against the ground. She glanced out the glass windows to her left, and her eyes narrowed. Kankuro and Baki already had company.

She ran up behind them and gripped the fan on her back tightly. "So, are they or are they not?" She whispered to Kankuro. Kankuro gave a noncommittal shrug and flexed his fingers, obviously eager for a fight. Temari's fingers tightened around her fan. It looked like they were going to be in for a storm.

"We have nothing against Sunagakure ninja. Just stand down, and let us be on our way," Asuma shouted as he held his empty hands in the air. His feet felt like lead, but he had gone too far to turn back now. He had to make Konoha a place where he could be proud to live instead of letting it deteriorate into the mess he knew it was destined to become at this rate. Asuma wished that Kurenai could have lived to see the Konoha he dreamed of, but he knew he would never whet the chance. But he couldn't stop now, even after she died. He couldn't disgrace her memory by wallowing in self-misery and losing his will. He would complete his mission, and he would do his best for the sake of Konoha.

"I'm afraid we can't do that, Sarutobi-san," Baki said, his lone eye piercing into Asuma's. "You may have nothing against us, but we cannot say the same for you. We have been ordered to stand guard, and we will not leave our position until we are otherwise ordered. Surrender now, and we will take you into custody until the war is over. You have one minute to decide."

Asuma clicked his tongue, his mind racing. "Things have changed, Baki-san. You know how wars are an evolving situation. We need you immediately at the arena. We've been sent to find reinforcements," Asuma said levelly, trying to sound as convincing as possible, but it was all for naught. Any hopes of convincing Baki went out the window when Sasuke gave a raucous laugh.

"That's such a pathetic lie! If you're going to lie, you might as well make it a good one, Sarutobi-san. You're just disgracing yourself by spitting out such weak words. Do you want to die knowing that your enemy heard _those _words? I wouldn't want to," Sasuke said with a smirk. He propped his head back against his hands and tapped his foot on the ground impatiently. He looked back over to the Suna nin and shouted, "Oi, you're with the old geezer Hokage, right?"

"Be quiet, Uchiha-san!" Asuma spat out. He tried to think of a way to salvage their position, but he knew their cover was blown. It would make it much harder to fetch the Forbidden Scroll now that they had to force their way inside, but they would just have to deal with it. Asuma took a step closer to Shino, almost protectively. The Aburame hadn't said a word since Kurenai died almost an hour ago. Asuma had tried to talk to him as they made their way to the Academy, but his words went unanswered. Asuma had no way to confirm Shino's mental state, so if it came to a fight, Asuma would have to keep an eye out for Shino. He refused to lose another comrade.

Asuma reached into his side pockets and flipped out his two chakra knives. Across from him, Baki lowered himself down into a taijutsu stance. "I will take care of Sarutobi-san. You two will deal with the genin. Go ahead with the plan, but if anything happens, I will try to assist you as soon as possible. Understood?"

"Yes, Baki-sensei!" Kankuro and Temari called out. Temari whipped her fan out from behind her back and opened it so that one purple circle appeared. "It looks like it's time to get this party started!" Temari yelled as she charged at the three ninja. She stopped ten feet away from the three ninja and sent a gust of wind spiraling towards them. Only Asuma had time to leap out of the way as the air crashed into them. Sasuke yelped as the current knocked him off his feet. Temari waved her fan again, knocking Sasuke with another blow which sent him tumbling to the left of the school courtyard. Without waiting another moment, Temari sent another gust towards Shino, forcing him in the opposite direction from Sasuke.

Shino landed on his feet and tried to rejoin Asuma, but Temari leaped in front of his way. "You're not going anywhere!" She yelled as she sent another current towards Shino. Her mind went over all of the countless pages of information that she had carefully memorized in preparation for this moment. In the month before the rebellion, Suna had been allowed to access files on certain high-risk ninja. All of the Aburame were on that list, so Temari knew that her fighting style was better suited to combating Shino than her brother. All of the data memorization was now going to come down to this. They had all chosen their opponents now, so it was time to fight.

"Uchiha-san, Aburame-san!" Asuma landed on the ground and moved to run after Shino, but Baki dived in his way, slashing at Asuma with a blade of invisible wind. The blade slammed into the ground, kicking up dust. Asuma stepped backwards and sent chakra down into his knives, extending out the edge with a glowing blue blade. "It looks like I'll have to deal with you first, won't I?" Asuma growled.

"Apparently so," Baki replied, slicing at Asuma with his blade of wind. Asuma gritted his teeth as the blade sliced into his cheek. He hurled one of his chakra knives at Baki, who dodged out of the way. Asuma twitched his fingers to the side, and the knife changed course and dove at Baki. Baki slammed the knife out of the air with a gust of wind and charged at Asuma.

Asuma shunshined backwards and put his hands together and called out, "**Katon: Haisekishou**!" Ash enveloped the center of the courtyard, and Baki held his hand over his mouth to stop himself from inhaling. He shot backwards from the black cloud, but ash already thickly coated his clothing.

His eyes travelled over to Asuma who was preparing to ignite the ash, and Baki's eyes narrowed. He quickly signed and called out, "**Futon: Daitoppa**!" The gust of wind blew the ash and sent it swirling towards Asuma just as it exploded into flames. Asuma yelled in surprise as the fire caught onto the edges of his clothing.

To the side, Temari slammed Shino with the butt of her fan, sending him flying through the air. She gave a burst of speed and aligned herself with Shino before opening her fan further. She yelled furiously before waving it Shino, blowing him towards the cloud of fire. Shino's eyes widened behind his glasses, and he whispered, "**Kawarimi no Jutsu**!" A cloud of kikaichu flew out of his collar and shoved him away from the firestorm as the block of wood that had replaced Shino went soaring into the fire. Shino rolled along the ground and hurried to his feet, but Temari was already in front of him. She twirled in a circle before kicking him in the chest, sending him back towards the flames.

Shino pulled his hands in front of his face as he felt himself tumble into the flames. He cried out as the fire scorched his skin. "Aburame-san!" Asuma braced himself and shunshined into the firestorm. He grabbed Shino under the arms before dashing out. He shot across the courtyard and laid Shino on the ground. Asuma yanked off Shino's overcoat and tossed it away, letting it slowly burn to ashes. "Aburame-san, are you all right?" Asuma demanded, shaking Shino's shoulder.

Shino pulled his hands away from his face and groaned as the raw skin on his hands stretched out. One of the lenses of his glasses was shattered against his face, and a small trail of blood trickled down his cheek. "I..." Shino stuttered as he tried to feel for his colony. He clamped his eyes shut and shook as he felt his kikaichu reporting into him. "I've lost almost my entire colony. I only have a few queens left, and not many warriors." His kikaichu all had short life cycles, but he felt it acutely when so many of them died at a single time. They were like his family, and they died to save him. He gritted his teeth as he wobbled up to his feet. "I need to repopulate," he said quietly.

Asuma took in a deep breath and nodded. "I can't afford you much time, so how much do you think you will need?"

Shino bit his lip before saying, "Ten minutes."

Asuma gave a hum of acknowledgement and pulled out one of his knives. "Ten minutes it is."

-TSUME-

Naruto took in a deep breath as he felt the Kyuubi's chakra circulate underneath his skin. His breath quickened as he felt his body temperature skyrocket. There was something about te Kyuubi's chakra that made his blood boil in his veins. He licked his lips and rubbed his fingers together as he lowered himself down into a taijutsu stance. Kurama's chakra felt weird, and Naruto wasn't sure if he liked it. His body seemed more sensitive than it did before. The explosions that echoed in the distance sounded louder than they used to, and he felt irritated that they were impudent enough to both him. He felt irritated by the fact that he was injured, irritated about Gaara and Hinata leaving, irritated about the man in front of him.

Naruto took in a deep breath and tried to calm himself down, but it didn't do much. His emotions were already beginning to bubble over. **Be careful, brat. You aren't used to having this much of my chakra in your system. It'll make you stronger, but don't get cocky. Remember, it's my chakra and not yours. If I decide to stop my chakra's flow into your heart, you'll feel it in a few minutes as you get beat into a pulp. Got it?** Naruto grumbled and nodded.

Hiashi's eyes widened as he watched Naruto's chakra system fluctuate. The boy's normally blue-colored chakra system slowly began to mix with red, and Hiashi knew what that meant. He shunshined towards Naruto and snapped his fingers out to close the tenketsu next to Naruto's heart. Naruto slid out of the way before swiping at Hiashi's legs. The older man jumped out of the way before running at Naruto again. Time was of the essence if he was going to prevent the Kyuubi from taking over. Even if it cost him his life, Hiashi would never let the Kyuubi rampage around Konoha ever again.

**Naruto-brat, if you want to finish this quickly, then you should let me take control. I know that you intend to use my power, but how long do you want to take with this fight? If you fight on your own, then your... friends might come back before you are done. If they get caught in the cross-fire, what would you do?** Naruto shut the thought out of his mind as he leapt out of Hiashi's way. He couldn't let the Kyuubi take control. He had to fight this fight on his own. At least, that was what he liked to think. He wasn't so sure if he could defeat Hiashi without the Kyuubi's help, but he was too afraid to give Kurama all the control he wanted.

It terrified him to think about Kurama being able to control his movements without him being able to prevent it. What if Kurama didn't relinquish control after Hiashi was defeated? What if Kurama went too far and did more than just defeat Hiashi? Would it still be Naruto's fault if the worst happened? Naruto gritted his teeth and parried Hiashi's blow clumsily before leaping away. Kurama growled from inside Naruto's mind as a dark cloud began to fill Naruto's mindspace, blocking him from talking to his container. **Foolish brat... Curse this stupid seal! NARUTO!**

"Stop running from me, demon-boy!" Hiashi yelled, charging at Naruto again. He shunshined up towards Naruto and said, "**Hakke Rokujuuyon Shou**!" The first two strikes hit Naruto in the chest, sending him stumbling back. Kurama cried out warnings in his head, but Naruto was already caught up in the dozens of strikes coming his way. "Sixty-four strikes!" Hiashi concluded as he sent a final strike to Naruto's chest, sending him flying back down one of the streets before crashing into a wooden fence. Naruto slumped down to the ground and heaved in air.

He clamped his eyes shut as he tried to force himself to stand, but his legs screamed back at him. "Shoot," Naruto spat out as he tried to get himself up, but each attempt only had him falling onto the ground again. He looked forward to see Hiashi moving towards him, and he searched his mind for the Kyuubi. He knew there was no other option now. He had to let the Kyuubi take over. He didn't want to, but he _had_ to. **Stupid, brat...** Kurama's voice was strangely soft as he spoke, and Naruto's eyes widened slightly at the sound. **You really are like a bumbling kit. Just sit down, and I'll take care of the rest. **Naruto's body untensed as the Kyuubi took over, and Kurama rotated Naruto's shoulders back.

"**Good grief. Naruto-brat really screwed himself up before he gave up...**" Kurama mumbled quietly. He flexed out Naruto's right hand before looking back over to Hiashi who had paused a few feet away. Hiashi instinctively stepped back as a wave of killer intent filled the air. His throat felt dry as Naruto rose into the air, and his Byakugan registered an orange mass in the place where Naruto was supposed to be standing. There was too much chakra emanating from the boy for it to merely be coming from his chakra system. Hiashi deactivated his Byakugan to see a thick layer of orange chakra floating off of Naruto. The chakra bubbled and swirled as it emanated from Naruto, and Hiasho grimaced. The sheer amount of chakra that Naruto was giving off would have been enough to kill a normal ninja had they attempted the same feat.

Hiashi's eyes narrowed as he stared at Naruto and a single name came to his lips, "Kyuubi. My fears have been justified then. I did not know to what extent you have been communicating with the boy, but now I see it is worse than I feared. The only mercy that I find is that you are still constrained within the boy's flesh. I will see to it that it stays that way." Hiashi glowered at Kurama who was still stretching out Naruto's body.

"**Really now? I'd like to see you try.**" Kurama's voice rumbled as he spoke. He shook out Naruto's shoulders one last time before taking off towards Hiashi. Hiashi barely moved out of the way as Naruto's fist hit the air where his face once was. Hiashi kicked out at Naruto, but Kurama swerved before grabbing onto Hiashi's leg and hurling fences cross the street and into a fence. The wood splintered as Hiashi made contact, and Hiashi winced at the smell of burning flesh coming from his leg. He glanced down to see black burns where Kurama had held onto his leg.

Hiashi clicked his tongue and shunshined out of the way as Kurama punched the shattered fence. Hiashi's mind whirled with thoughts as he tried to find a way to defeat Kurama. Obviously, he would get chakra burns if he came too near to Kurama. It was impossible to guess how long the Kyuubi would be able to continue giving off that much chakra, so Hiashi had to assume that the rest of the fight would be fight with the protective coating. If that was the case, there was only one thing for him to do.

Kurama roared as he dropped down from the sky, slamming his fist into the dust. The ground cracked and dust filled the air, creating a smokescreen between them. Hiashi immediately activated his Byakugan as he moved away from the cloud, searching for Kurama. Kurama smirked as he heard the sound of Hiashi's Byakugan. "**How predictable... And how foolish**," Kurama growled as he dashed towards Hiashi.

Hiashi lurched backwards as Kurama flared his chakra out. Hiashi yelled and covered his eyes as the chakra swarmed his vision with bright orange, blinding him. He stumbled backwards as his head pounded with pain. "**Told you so.**" Kurama's voice whispered into his ear a second before Hiashi felt a fist slamming into his chest. Air rushed out of his chest as he felt himself flying through the air. Hiashi dropped to the ground and clung to his chest as he tried to breathe air back into his lungs.

"No... I won't give up." Hiashi grunted as he wobbled back onto his feet. Lights still danced across his vision from the chakra blast, but Hiashi refused to give in. He couldn't give in while he still had breath in his lungs. If the Kyuubi escaped to ravage Konoha, then Hiashi knew no one would be able to stop it. If Naruto hadn't let the Kyuubi take full control, then there was still a chance to stop it before it really got out of hand. If that was the case, then he absolutely couldn't give in.

Kurama stood in front of Hiashi with a skeptical look on his face. He looked at the palms of his hands before glancing back up to Hiashi who was standing up before him. A part of him almost admired the strong, stupid, old man who was battling to stand on his feet, but still refused to give in. Kurama gave a hum and shook his head. "**Let's end this, old man.**"

"This is the end for one of us, but it won't be me," Hiashi breathed out shakily. A green blade of chakra appeared along his right arm, and he charged at Kurama, his arm raised above his head. Kurama shook his head sadly and dodged out of the way before swerving around and stabbing Hiashi through the chest. Hiashi gave out a gasping breath before falling limply down to the ground.

"**Sorry, old man. But it's over.**" Kurama said over Hiashi's body. The orange vapor surrounding Naruto's body began to fade, and Kurama walked over to the side of the street before slumping down to the ground. He leaned back against the wall and whispered, "**Well, brat. It's your turn now. Don't waste it.**"

**Author's Note: I'm so sorry for the late update! I was originally planning on trying to update last week, but I found it just wasn't possible. I just finished my radiation treatment on March 1****st****, so I'm still wonked out. My doctors tell me that the fatigue I'm feeling right now is "minor" and that I should feel the real fatigue in two weeks. I'm feeling appropriately horrified right now. I'll try to keep on schedule for my updates, but what I'm really trying to say here is don't be surprised if it doesn't happen. I barely got this update out as it is, but I'm going to try my best to keep up the quality and the updates! ^^**

**As you probably noticed, Danzo vs Anko is on hold until next week. I wanted to continue writing this week, but after a talk with one of my reviewers, I realized a lot of things have happened since I last read Naruto. You see, I haven't read anything past Nagato's death at chapter 450. I'm taking the time to read through what I have missed, but there are a lot of things that I need to catch up on before I write the scene. On that note, I can promise that the scene will be included in next week's story. ^^ **


	44. Who Is Left

War does not determine who is right - only who is left.  
**-Bertrand Russell**

Chapter 43: Who Is Left

"How dare you..." Sasuke seethed as he wiped the dirt away from his mouth. He spat onto the ground as he twirled a kunai out of his side pouch. **You are Uchiha Sasuke. You are the last honorable Uchiha alive. Are you going to let some outsiders from Suna say that they bested Uchiha Sasuke? What a disgrace to your clan that would be.** The voice was right. Sasuke gritted his teeth and yelled, "I suppose you think you're better than me, don't you? You'll regret thinking that when I'm done with you..."

Kankuro tilted his head to the side and arched his eyebrow. "Ha? What are you talking about? I haven't said anything!" Kankuro had to wonder if Sasuke had knocked a few screws loose. Kankuro flexed his fingers, preparing to react as soon as Sasuke launched the attack. Baki had always told him that it was better to let the opponent attack first. Patience was a virtue, and luckily, it didn't seem like a virtue Sasuke had been endowed with.

"I see it in your eyes. Just because that wench managed to hit me with a surprise attack, you think that I'll be that easy to take down? It's a foolish thought. I'm Uchiha Sasuke, last of the real Uchihas! No one can defeat me!" Sasuke shouted angrily. **That's right, boy. You have power, and they're all secretly jealous of what only you have. You have the sharigan while they are blessed with what? Nothing. You are already powerful, but I can give you something more. I have the power to make you unstoppable if only you will give in and use me...** Sasuke hissed for his inner self to shut up. He was strong enough on his own without having to rely on some weak voice in his head.

Across the field, Kankuro raised his eyebrow and gave a lackluster "huh." He blinked a few times before saying, "I'm not in the habit of underestimating people, Uchiha-san. I do have to wonder if it is fair for me to fight an insane person though. You seem to have lost a few circuits before coming to this battle. Did your brains get pounded out of you?"

"Insane is what people label outsiders that are not like themselves. You may call me insane, but I think the rest of the world is really insane." As Sasuke ended his speech he closed his eyes, and a smile grew across his face. Kankuro frowned and took a step back as Sasuke suddenly yanked his free arm towards him. Metal wires shot up from the ground, constricting around Kankuro. Kankuro cringed as the wires drew tighter around him, and Sasuke smirked. "You're all talk."

Kankuro gave a strained smile and said, "Not really." The genjutsu snapped, and the wooden puppet fell apart within the wires. As the wooden limbs detatched and droppe to the ground, Sasuke's smile vanished and his head whipped around, searching for the real Kankuro. "Where are you? Are you hiding like a coward? Be a man and come out and fight me!" Sasuke challenged, his eyes flicking from tree to tree around the courtyard.

Kankuro sniggered from inside the tree branches and twitched his right thumb. Crow reassembled behind Sasuke's back as he continued to look around for any sign of movement in the trees. He drifted Crow closer to Sasuke and pulled back Crow's head to reveal a long needle. "I would do that, but I'm a ninja. Stealth is a part of the job!" Sasuke whirled around as Kankuro's voice escaped Crow. Sasuke whipped his kunai in front of him and blocked the needle as it stabbed at him. Sasuke roared at Crow before giving it a sound kick in the chest.

He flipped backwards into the air and yelled, "**Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu**!" A giant fireball erupted from Sasuke's mouth, and Kankuro jerked his hand to move Crow out of the way.

"That idiot. Doesn't he know how long it takes to make a puppet?" Kankuro twitched the chakra string on his pointer finger and Crow's torso opened up. Dozens of senbon shot out of row's chest, and Sasuke flashed open his Sharigan. As he landed on the ground, he immediately sprinted into action. He danced in and out of the poisoned needles as he hawkishly watched Crow with one eye, waiting for an opening. He kept the other eye on the trees. Sasuke didn't know much about puppets, but he knew it was impossible have the puppet fight him unless Kankuro was able to see his movements clearly enough to respond.

A gleam of metal caught Sasuke's eye, and he trailed his fingers along the ground to grab the wire that he had discarded earlier. He yanked the wire from the ground and whipped it at the nearby shrubbery. The wire ripped through the bushes, and Sasuke clicked his tongue. Kankuro wasn't there. From his tree, Kankuro gulped. It wouldn't be good if Sasuke did that to his hiding spot. He needed to find another place to hide... An idea suddenly hit him, and Kankuro made Crow charge at Sasuke. If this was going to work, he needed a diversion.

Sasuke kicked Crow in the stomach, sending the puppet spiraling back into Kankuro's tree. Kankuro bit his lip as he used one of the blades inside Crow to sever the rags around the puppet, letting them fall to the ground. Part one was completed. Now, he just needed to distract Sasuke for a few minutes.

Kankuro rotated his hand in a circle, and two slots opened up on Crow's arms. A loud click was heard, and two round balls shot into the air before exploding. Smoke filled the small courtyard, and Sasuke hacked as the smoke entered his lungs. Kankuro forced Crow to dive at Sasuke as he hopped down from the tree and hid under the pile of rags that Crow used to wear. In retrospect, it was a pretty crappy plan. He was betting on the fact that the Sharingan only detected active techniques and movements. If he didn't move from under thr huge pile, then the Sharingan wouldn't be able to find him. It sounded way smarter two minutes ago than it did then.

From under the rags, Kankuro tapped his middle finger and his ring finger together. Two scythes ejected from Crow's chest just as he reached Sasuke. Sasuke whirled around and moved to block, but he wasn't fast enough. The blades caught Sasuke in the stomach, causing him to yell as he fell backwards to the ground.

Sasuke clutched at his stomach as the blood seeped into the ground. He got up onto his feet and glared at Crow. "You'll pay for that." **Yes, they will. Now come, if we work together, no one will be able to stop us. You know you are strong enough for now, but you will tire unless you use my abilities. I amyou, and you are me. You rely on no one but youself if you accept my offer. So, do you agree?** "Yes." Kankuro twitched from underneath the rags as he suddenly felt a pulse of killer intent pass over him. He peeked out from underneath the grey cloth and nearly jumped in surprise. Black flame-like marks covered Sasuke's pale skin, and Kankuro could have sworn that he could see them writhe on his flesh. The once insane look in Sasuke's eyes had faded away to be replaced by a look of pure malice, one that sent chills down Kankuro's back. He almost preferred the insane Sasuke.

Kankuro clicked his tongue and moved his fingers, sending Crow diving at Sasuke. Two knives snapped out of Crows wrists as he came near, and the puppet slashed at Sasuke. Sasuke stood still as the knives descended down until suddenly, he snapped out both of his arms. His hands snagged Crow's arms as they descended, and with a firm twist, Sasuke snapped them off of Crow. He tossed the bony arms to the ground and crackled his knuckles menacingly. "Two down, two to go."

Kankuro brought Crow up into the air so he floated above Sasuke. Sasuke didn't move from his spot, challenging the puppet to come at him. Kankuro waited a few moments to see if Sasuke would attack before sending Crow spiraling at the boy. Sasuke ducked out of the way as the first blow came, and he severed another arm from Crow's body. Kankuro grunted and ejected the scythes from Crow's stomach again, but Sasuke dodged and grabbed onto one of Crow's legs. He pulled Crow towards him and reached out a hand to grab the head when he felt a sharp pain in his back.

Sasuke reached back and yanked one of Crow's arms out from his back. His eyes flicked over to where he had discarded Crow's broken arms, and he realized that only one arm was lying on the ground. Sasuke grunted and stumbled backwards, a strange tingling sensation beginning to spread around his body. "What?"

Kankuro stood up from his hiding place and leaned back against the tree. He crossed his arms and watched as Sasuke tripped back onto the ground. "It's poison. No puppet master leaves home without it. You'll be fine when you wake up, probably." Sasuke groaned as he thumped his head back against the ground. His body felt like lead. He tried to lift up his hand, but he couldn't move.

"But it promised me that I would win..." Sasuke mumbled before falling unconscious. Kankuro snorted at that.

"No one can ever promise victory. There will always be one little thing that gets in the way." Kankuro walked up to Crow and peered down one of the empty arm sockets and sighed. "Jeez, this will take forever to repair."

-TSUME-

Gaara shivered as a sudden cloud of pressure swept over him. It felt as if something was constricting around him, making it hard for him to breathe. He had only left Naruto ten minutes, and he was already on his way back, but he knew something was wrong. Unfortunately, he couldn't shake the thought that he knew what had happened. Naruto had hinted towards it earlier, but Gaara just couldn't believe that he would. Naruto, of all people, wouldn't let the Kyuubi take over... would he? Gaara vividly remembered when he had last let Shukaku take over his body. Fifteen ditches were dug the next day. "I have to hurry," Gaara mumbled to himself. He couldn't let Naruto share the same fate, the same guilt, that he had felt. He sent a burst of chakra to his feet and shot ahead to where he felt the presence. Hinata called out for him as he left her behind with the Kusa team that they had picked up to be their reinforcements.

After a few minutes, Gaara felt the heavy presence release its hold on his chest. Did that mean? Gaara gritted his teeth. Naruto had better not have died while he and Hinata were away. Gaara's eyes searched the area around him, and he realized that he recognized some of this streets. Naruto had to be around here somewhere. His search grew increasingly panicked as he didn't feel any sign of the Kyuubi's chakra in the air. **Good, maybe the stupid Kyuubi is finally dead.** Gaara mentally shouted at Shukaku to shut up when suddenly, a flash of yellow caught his eye. Gaara shunshined down to the ground. When he looked over to where he saw the yellow, he froze. Naruto was slumped down against the wall, unmoving. The boy's head rested on his chest, and blood was splattered across the front of his clothes. Gaara rushed over to the other boy and knelt down on the ground beside him. He snatched Naruto's hand and felt for his pulse. A few moments passed before Gaara let out a sigh of relief. It was there.

"Sabaku-kun, where did you go?" Gaara glanced up when he heard Hinata's shout. He released Naruto's hand with a sigh and rose to his feet. Gaara stepped away from the wall and snapped his fingers. A cloud of sand shot into the air and moved back and forth, signaling his location. Gaara nodded, satisfied at his handiwork, before looking up and down the street. If Naruto was here, then Hiashi had to be... Gaara's eyes caught sight of a crumpled form on the ground a few meters away. The body was lying face-down on the ground, but it was unmistakably Hiashi. The long brown hair, the green kimono, the pale skin, there was no one else it could be.

Gaara turned to warn Hinata, but she was already running towards him. "You found, Naruto-san! I'm so glad! Is he all ri-" Hinata broke off as her eyes drifted past Gaara and towards to the form of her father. Hinata slowed to a stop as she stared blankly at the unmoving form. For a moment, time seemed to stand still as Hinata simply stared at Hiashi.

Gaara awkwardly shifted out of Hinata's way and said, "Uzumaki-san is fine. When I arrived, they were already like this." Hinata didn't respond, but continued to stare at the gaping hole in her father's back. Gaara vaguely heard the sound of the Kusa ninja landing in the street, and he turned to walk towards them. He knew that he should probably be comforting her right now, but he didn't know what to say. He wasn't good with other people, and he certainly wasn't good at comforting others. He cast a glance over his shoulder to see Hinata kneeling down on the ground and rolling Hiashi over onto his back. He wished that he could say something, but he couldn't find the words.

On the ground, Naruto moaned softly. His head rolled off his chest, and his eyes fluttered open. "What happened?" Naruto lifted a hand to the side of his pounding head before giving his head a good shake. Naruto forced himself up from the ground and leaned back against the wall. The world whirled around him as he tried to right himself, and it took him a few moments before he was stable on his feet. His blue eyes flicked around, first seeing Gaara and the Kusa ninja, and then seeing Hinata. He saw her hunched around her knees, seemingly staring at the ground. Naruto tilted his head to the side in confusion and walked over towards her.

That was when he saw the body. Naruto instinctively took a step back as the memories of before the fight flowed back into his mind. Kurama had killed Hiashi. Naruto looked down at his chest, and stood horrified at the bloodstains that covered his chest and his arm. He held his hand before his face, staring at the dried blood. Naruto clenched his fist tightly. He had accepted the fact that Hiashi would probably die if he let Kurama take over in the fight, but he it was different from actually having it turn out that way. It hadn't seemed real before, but it was real now. Hiashi was dead, and he wasn't coming back. He had hoped the best, but this wasn't some fairy tale where no one got hurt. This was war, and Hiashi was one of the casualties.

"Hinata-chan, are you all right?" Naruto asked tentatively. He didn't dare step closer to her, not when he was covered with Hiashi's blood.

"I'm all right, I guess," Hinata said, her voice just barely above a whisper. "I'm still alive. He's not."

Naruto flinched. "I'm sorry, Hinata-chan. I didn't want to, but I..." Hinata gave a soft sigh and turned around to look at Naruto.

"You don't have to apologize, Naruto-san. I know that you would have avoided it if you could have." Hinata clasped her hands behind her back and gave a weak smile. Naruto met her eyes and the two of them shared a long look before Hinata turned back to her father.

She was silent for a moment before she spoke. "You know, I've never liked him. I don't think I've ever had a pleasant memory with my father. I was never good enough, and I wasn't worthy of his attention, but... I don't think I ever wanted to see him like this. To me, my father was always invincible, and now... He's crumpled on the ground like a broken relic. I feel like I'm waiting for him to get back up and berate me on my response to his death, but I know that it won't happen." Hinata laughed weakly and shook her head. "It's silly isn't it?" Naruto cocked his head to the side in confusion as Hinata continued.

"Hey... Is it wrong to not feel sad? I... I know I should feel sad about his death, but I don't. I mean, I do feel sad, but I think my sadness comes from the fact that I'm not sad about him dying." Hinata paused and bit her lip. "Naruto-san, do you remember all that time ago when Hatake-sensei told us that shinobi have to be used to pain? I passed all the exams, and I made it onto my genin team, but... I don't feel like a shinobi right now. I feel like a child that knows something is wrong, but doesn't know what to do to fix it. There's so much in this world that I can't control, and I hate it. I really, really hate it." Hinata clenched a fist by her side and trembled as she spoke.

"Naruto-san, how many of my family have to die before this bloody war ends? Neji-kun was the first to fall, and now it is my father's turn. More and more could be dead already, and I wouldn't know it. My sister, my cousins, my aunts, my uncles, they might all be dead already. Why do so many have to die before this war ends? There are too many..." Hinata's broke off suddenly as she gave a choking sob. She bowed her head close to her chest, and she let her hair fall in front of her eyes.

A tear dropped down onto the ground, and Naruto bit his lip tightly. He wanted to say something to comfort her, but he knew that there was nothing he could say that would make the hurt go away. He was the one that caused Neji to try and infiltrate the rebellion, an act which ended up killing him, and he was the one that allowed the Kyuubi to kill Hiashi. He had a hand in the deaths of those closest to Hinata. Nothing he could say would change that fact.

"Hinata-chan, if it makes any difference... I think you were very brave," Naruto said softly, reaching forward and patting the girl on the head. Hinated looked up and opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out. She just gave a sad smile and shook her head.

Hinata rubbed her eyes before clapping herself on the cheeks. "Thank you, Naruto-san. I appreciate it." Hinata looked down at Hiashi's limp form and took in a deep breath. "We should probably move his body to the side of the street. It would be too much to carry it around, and we'll probably be needed elsewhere." Hinata looked over to Naruto, and Naruto gave her a nod of approval. Hinata gave a hint of a smile before walking over to the Kusa ninja.

As she left, Naruto watched her back with empty eyes. "That girl has had her cousin and her father die in the course of a single month. If you think you have the right to be sadder than her about their deaths, then you had better have a good reason," Gaara said as he walked up to Naruto. "And if she is strong enough to keep on going, then you had better not give up now. It would be pathetic if you did."

Naruto blinked at Gaara quietly before chuckling. "Eh, if you put it like that, then I can't really disagree can I?"

**Author's Note: I know I promised Danzo's battle in this chapter, and I'm really, really sorry it didn't happen. I figured that you would rather have a chapter without Danzo than no chapter at all, so I decided to post this. Thank you all so much for your support. I really appreciate it. I'll keep on trying my best! **

**Question for you all: Would you rather I post on time with a shorter chapter or a day late with a longer chapter? I have noticed that fewer people review when I miss an update, so I am trying to be on time. However, I figure that it would be better to ask the source, so what do you think? PM or review with your answer! Thanks!**

**(Note: I haven't been able to try write early enough to get these chapters betaed, so if you notice any mistakes, please let me know!)**


	45. Rise and Fight Again

For he who fights and runs away  
May live to fight another day;  
But he who is in battle slain  
Can never rise and fight again.  
**-Oliver Goldsmith**

Chapter 44: Rise and Fight Again

Asuma knew that he was in trouble. It was as if his opponents had been perfectly picked to cause him trouble. Asuma took a tentative step back and eyed Temari warily. The girl had opened up her fan to two and a half moons, and the gusts were downright perilous to face. Asuma had faced stronger winds during his time as a jounin, but that didn't make her blows any less dangerous. The fan severely hampered his ability to use his chakra knives as long distance weapons. Asuma preferred close-range combat anyways, but it irritated him to know that he had been forced into a particular style.

From the corner of his eye, Asuma watched as Sasuke fell to the ground. Asuma groaned under his breath. He had nothing against the Uchiha brat getting beaten up, but it was all about timing. Now was exactly the wrong time for Asuma to lose an ally. Asuma twirled his chakra knives around his fingers and took a tentative step back. Five minutes had passed since Shino had left the battle. At the rate this battle was going, Asuma wasn't sure that he would be able to afford Shino the other five minutes.

His mind raced as he tried to figure out what to do. He could try to face the three Suna ninja head on, but that would be suicide. There was a limit to what one jounin could do on his own after all. Asuma took in a deep breath and looked past the three Suna ninja to the Academy building. The Forbidden Scroll was just inside that building. It was imperative that he grab the scroll and bring it to Danzo as soon as he could. Asuma clicked his tongue. He had wanted to defeat the Suna ninja, but it seemed like that would no longer be an option.

Across the field, Temari stood warily with her fan. She glanced over to her sensei. Baki had a deep frown set into his face. They had entered into a stand-off two minutes ago when Asuma used a fuuton to create a wind barrier between him and his attackers. The barrier had long since gone, but the waiting game had begun. Each side kept an eagle-eye on their opponent, waiting for the other to make the first move. Baki was in no hurry for the fight to end, and so, he was perfectly content waiting for Asuma to launch the first move. However, he could tell that Asuma was not the same.

Asuma kept on nervously glancing towards the Academy, and Baki couldn't help but wonder what it was that he wanted. Baki knew of the Hokage's office on the upper level of the Academy, but he couldn't help but wonder what it was that the rebels were seeking. Suna had only been assigned to protect the Academy and the courtyard. They weren't properly authorized to enter the top level unless an emergency arose. Baki thought it was stupid that Konoha hadn't properly informed them of what they were protecting, but he could also understand the country's reasoning. It just irritated him that he didn't know whether or not he was protecting a potential weapon of mass destruction or if it was just some dirty blackmail on the Hokage.

While Baki was lost in thought, Asuma made the first move. "**Katon: Haisekishou**!" Asuma blew out a cloud of ash, filling the courtyard. Temari and Baki leapt out of the way, and Temari sent a gust of wind towards the ash. The ash flew towards Asuma, and Temari smirked. She had got him. Asuma shunshined ahead, and, much to Temari's surprise, he ran right through the cloud of ash. He spurted through the ash and punched the Academy doors, forcing them to swing open.

"Temari-san, head into the building and force him back out!" Baki commanded, his hands already signing away at a barrier ninjutsu. Temari gave a quick salute before shunshining into the building after Asuma. She heard his footsteps pounding down the halls as she dashed after him. She gave a sigh of relief as she saw him disappearing up the stairs. Even if he was a rebel, he at least has the dignity to not attack the Academy students in order to stall her.

Temari pulled herself up the stairs, and quickly thought about the layout of the upper floors. The quickest way to reach the Hokage's office was through the jounin dormitories and the secretary hall. Temari gave a short sigh of relief as she slammed open the doors to the jounin hall. The secretaries had met with her, Baki, and Kankuro when they were first stationed at the Academy. She knew that there were a few loyalist ninja mixed in with the normal crop of secretaries, so she could probably count on some backup.

Temari swung her fan at the door leading to the hall, sending the door flying off of its hinges. When she entered the room, she saw the last thing she expected. Chairs and desks were scattered across the room, and justu were flying through the air. Temari dropped down to the ground as a stray kunai went spiraling above her. She looked wildly around the room, looking for any sign of Asuma. Obviously, she could expect little help from the ninja here.

A swinging door caught her eye as she noticed the door on the other side of the hall closing. "Oh no, you freaking don't!" Temari yelled angrily as she charged into the fray. She grabbed one of the wooden chairs scattered along the ground and ran across the hall. When a ninja moved to block her path, she flung the chair at him, whacking him in the chaos. As he fell to the ground, Temari jumped over him and continued weaving in and out of the weapons. "And why is Konoha supposed to be the peaceful village anyways? They're all flipping crazy here!" Temari complained under her breath as she yanked the door open.

She immediately shut the door behind her as a senbon went flying towards her back. The sharpened tip of the metal needle stuck through the wood, and Temari gulped before tearing off down the long windowed hall. "**Fuuton: Daitoppa!**" Temari's eyes lit up. Asuma had to be just reaching the Hokage's office! She still had time! She put on a burst of speed as she hurried down the hallway. She rounded the corner and frowned at the empty door frame.

By the time she entered the room, Asuma was already perched on the windowsill, a large scroll strapped along his back. "Oi! Get back here, you!" Asuma briefly glanced back towards her before jumping out of the window. Temari stuck her head out of the window and watched as Asuma leaped down to the ground. "You jerk!" She yelled angrily at him. Her face betrayed her emotions as a wry smile spread across her face. "Why did he have to give me the advantage? This won't be as fun now."

Temari jumped out onto the red-shingled roof and spread out her fan. She channeled her chakra into the metal fan before flinging it over the side of the rooftop. She hopped down onto the fan, wobbling a bit as the fan stabilized in the air. After a few moments, the fan zoomed after Asuma. The black-haired man was a dot from where she stood, and Temari grinned. Baki wouldn't let him get away now.

From the ground, Asuma kept an eye to the sky as he leapt over the walls of the Academy. He felt a bit guilty that he was abandoning Sasuke and Shino, but he hoped that they would understand. If the rebels won the war, then they would be freed. If the rebels lost, they would all be imprisoned for even trying to overthrow the Hokage. If going back to rescue them meant jeopardizing the overall mission, Asuma couldn't do it.

Asuma sped up as he left the Academy grounds. Suddenly, his eyes widened, and he skidded to a stop. Something was wrong. The Suna ninja would never let him escape so easily. Asuma snatched a rock from the ground and hurled it in front of him. A few seconds later, Asuma immediately dropped to the ground as the wrong went hurtling back over his head. It was a rebounding barrier ninjutsu. "Shoot," Asuma cursed under his breath.

There were only two known ways of destroying a rebounding barrier ninjutsu. One, you could break the caster's concentration and disrupt the flow of chakra into the shield. Two, you could overwhelm the shield with an array of attacks against the shield at a single time. Asuma instinctively preferred the first option over the second, but he didn't have any time. Asuma's eyes glanced back to the scroll on his back. Maybe there was something in there...

-TSUME-

Danzo glared at Anko with his lone visible eye. "You are a symbol of why Konoha is a shadow of its former self. A ninja that knows exactly what sort of odds she is facing, yet decides to continue to her demise. You claim to fight in the name of honor and even in the name of Konoha, but you don't even know what it means to fight for your country. You haven't stood in a field of blood and watched your friends and family die only for you to return home and watch your leaders give away their hard fought position. Konoha has desecrated the names of its fallen, and you see to protect it for that very purpose? It makes me despair that there are ninja like you plaguing Konoha. Konoha has such promise as a country, but its inhabitants always chose to lead it into ruin. Do you enjoy watching Konoha fall apart? Do you enjoy seeing lives wasted?" Danzo lamented. He took in a deep breath and sighed. His back was straight, and his stance was firm, but his mind was secretly racing.

He needed a battle strategy that would defeat Anko in the least amount of time possible, but he also had to factor in what techniques he could realistically use in this situation. He could always use the Sharingans on his arm if it really came down to it, but they would have to be a last resort. If word ever got out about how he had implanted the Sharingan into his right eye and into his arm, then no one would ever trust him again. He didn't doubt that it would be enough to rally all of Konoha against him, even those on the rebel side. That meant that he would have to stick to simple jutsu in order to defeat Anko. He looked Anko over with an analyzing glance before giving a quiet scoff. It wouldn't take him too long.

"You're such a hypocrite," Anko snarled. "You're talking about how awful it is to waste lives when you're the one that started a civil war! Did you not think that people were going to die from this? A leader's duty is to win the war with the least amount of suffering on _both_ sides, not just his own! The Hokage never gave away Konoha's position! He only tried to keep the enemies from suffering too much after their defeat. Would you let them suffer needlessly? If any lives are wasted after a battle, they are the people that die after the war is over!" Anko pulled a fistful of senbon out from her side pouch and held them before her, waiting for Danzo to take the first action. She was in no hurry for the fight to begin. The longer she stalled him, the more time Koharu had to defeat Homura, and the more time Teru had to work with Ino.

Out of the corner of his eye, Danzo watched as the blonde boy crept along the edges of the room over to where Ino knelt by Orochimaru. Danzo growled from the back of his throat and flicked his eye back over to Anko. "People will die in this war, but they will die making Konoha a better place. They die now for the sake for their children and their children's children. I will not let Konoha become a place that worries for its enemies people while its own are still in poverty. The Hokage is making Konoha weak, and it is my duty as a ninja to protect Konoha. You may disagree with my methods, but I am protecting Konoha from being ruined by the fools that run it!" As the last word left his mouth, Danzo suddenly took off towards Teru.

"Oi!" He heard Anko call out behind him as he slipped a kunai out to stab Teru. The boy's eyes were round with fear as he covered his head and dashed towards Ino. Danzo swung the kunai down, but a flash of green caught his eye and his hand snapped backwards. The blade caught the snake in the crook of the mouth, splitting it apart. Danzo ducked away as six more snakes dove towards him.

Anko landed in front of Teru and held her left arm out in front of her. Snakes writhed from underneath her sleeves, hissing at Danzo as he took a step closer. "I won't let you get the brat while I'm still alive," Anko growled.

Danzo snorted and said, "Then I'll just have to dispose of you first." Danzo held up the dripping red kunai up to his mouth and whispered, "**Fuuton: Shinkuujin**." Warm chakra bubbled up in his throat, and he spat out a glob of green energy. The chakra reformed around the blade, eventually lengthening out into a scimitar. Anko's eyes narrowed as she stared at the sword, and she made a mental note to not let it touch her. She clicked her tongue and flung the senbon in her right hand at Danzo.

Danzo deflected most of the senbon with his kunai, but one of the senbon barely managed to clip the bandages around his eyes. The white cloth fluttered down to the ground, and Anko smirked. "You know. I've always wanted to see what's under those bandages of yours. When I beat you, I think I'm going to look." Danzo frowned at Anko and opened his mouth to say something, but that was when he noticed two pairs of eyes peeking out from Anko's collar. Two brown heads poked their way out from the tan overcoat. The snake on the left opened its mouth and spat a spray of venom into the air. The venom landed on the ground, hissing as it made contact with the stone.

Danzo mentally flipped through a file of venomous snakes in his head, but he hadn't seen this species before. "I bet you're wondering what these two beauties are, aren't you?" Anko said mischievously as she stroked one of the two snakes on the head. "It took me a long time to hunt these two down to contract with me. They've been incorrectly classified as being extinct three times over the past few centuries. I doubt that even you have immunized yourself against their venom."

Danzo bit the inside of his lip as he watched the snake venom gnaw away at the stone, leaving small holes dotted along the ground. This was an unexpected nuisance. He'd have to rely on long distance attacks for now. He flung the kunai at Anko who swerved out of the way and ran towards Danzo. "**Fuuton: Shinkuugyoku**." Danzo inhaled before releasing six torrents of air.

Anko tucked herself low to the ground as the first two bolts fired over her. She clicked her tongue as she tried to dodge the jutsu. The snakes on her shoulder spat venom at Danzo, but one of the bolts struck the venom, scattering it through the air. Anko grunted as she backed up, trying to avoid the sprays. Danzo took the opportunity and directed the last blast of air at Anko. Anko winced as the air sliced her left side, tearing open a wound.

She jumped backwards into the air and yelled, "**Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu**!" Fire gurgled up in the back of her throat, and she blew out. The fiery dragon dove at Danzo, its maw wide open as if to swallow him. Danzo felt the heat touch his skin as he shunshined backwards, farther away from Orochimaru. Anko landed on the ground in front of her former sensei and the two genin, clutching at her side. A snake crawled out from inside of her coat and wrapped around the wound, giving it a messy seal.

She breathed heavily as she met eyes with Danzo. Danzo was the first to break away as he looked down at Teru who had just reached Ino's side. As he was about to touch her shoulder, Danzo yelled, "Get away from her, boy! If you so much as touch her, you won't live past tonight." Teru jumped at Danzo's words and retracted his hands away from the girl's shoulder.

Anko growled and snapped, "Guess who summons the snakes here, brat! I didn't join Torture and Interrogation for nothing! If you don't drag Ino out of that guy's head, I'll inject you with so much poison you won't know right from left!" Teru felt a shiver run down his back as Anko gave him the evil eye. "Am I understood?" Teru nodded hurriedly and looked back to Ino.

He wasn't exactly sure what he was doing. He knew a little bit about the Yamanaka clan jutsu, but his knowledge was only superficial. Clan jutsu were secret after all. But if Anko's previous words about his grandfather were any clue, then the jutsu probably involved chakra insertion to manipulate the victim's brain. Teru's face softened as he remembered his grandfather.

Kimura Isamu had been the one to pioneer medical chakra manipulation in a third party. During the Second Shinobi World War, Sunagakure, knowing that Tsunade would counter any new poisons they created, delved into the realm of chakra insertion and manipulation techniques. When the jutsu first appeared on the battlefield, no one knew how to stop it. Sunagakure ninja merely had to touch Konoha ninja, and the Konoha ninja could be dead within fifteen minutes from organ failure. Since the ninja died so quickly and the enemy chakra dissipated upon the person's death, no one knew how to prevent it. That was where his grandfather had come in.

Isamu had been a field medic nin in the right place at the right time. He was the first to notice the small green flash around Suna ninja's hands before they touched a Konoha ninja. It took him a few tries, a few tries that Isamu regretted dearly, but he was finally able to figure out how to withdraw alien chakra from another ninja. It was different from withdrawing poison because the chakra was alive and being actively manipulated during the jutsu. The enemy chakra raced up and down the chakra circuit, and it often took a lot of work to corner the chakra before withdrawing it. Isamu had been declared a hero for discovering the way to stop the jutsu.

Teru still remembered the day he went up to his grandfather and asked him how he was brave enough to run into a battlefield and still be smart enough to discover what was going on.

_Isamu's smile fell off of his face as he looked down at the five year old boy. The lines on his face seemed deeper than usual as he reached out to pat his grandson on the head. "Brave, huh? Is that what they call me now?" Isamu gave a weak chuckle as he shook his head. "I was not brave, Teru-kun. I was anything but brave. Bravery is described as 'ready to face danger' or 'having courage'. I had neither of those two traits." _

_Isamu leaned back into his padded chair with a forlorn look on his face. "I wasn't brave because I ran into the middle of a bloody battlefield to save is not what makes a man truly brave. I was a coward, Teru-kun. I was a miserable coward because I wasn't brave enough to be out there when the fighting happened. The only reason I discovered the pattern in the jutsu was because someone attacked the medical corps camp. I was a field medic, but I had refused to leave the field base and go into the battlefield. I couldn't face all of the death. I was afraid, and I let all of those people die."_

_A tear slipped down Isamu's face, but he still continued on. "I'm lauded as a hero for finding a way to save all of the men that followed, but all I can think about is how I didn't act before that. I knew everything that I needed to know, but I didn't do anything even when I could have." Isamu looked down at his grandson and said softly, "Teru-kun, if you ever have to decide whether or not to act, heaven forbid the time arises, but if you do, err on the side of action. Live a life without the regret of wishing you did something more. Do everything you can while you still have the chance, and you will never regret your life." _

Teru blinked as he heard the sound of kunai clashing off to the side. He glanced over and saw Danzo and Anko whipping weapons at each other. As he watched them battle, he realized how cowardly he was being. He clapped himself twice on the cheeks and took in a deep breath. "Geez. What am I doing anyways? Grandfather will kill me when I see him again if I sit by and do nothing." Teru knelt beside Ino and pressed his hands against Orochimaru's chest and began fishing for any hints of Ino's chakra.

-TSUME-

"It's been a long time since I've seen you looking like that, Homura-kun. You look almost twenty years younger," Koharu said kindly as she twirled her hair pin between her fingers. Her wispy, gray hair trailed down to her back, and it gave Koharu a nostalgic feeling. She was back ten years ago when the Kyuubi attacked Konoha. It was the last time she had taken out her hairpin for something other than for washing or sleeping. Whenever she took our her hairpin, someone died. Someone would die today too. She just hoped that it wouldn't be her.

"I'm afraid I don't have time for these trivialities, Koharu-san," replied Homura dully. He pushed up the green-rimmed glasses on his face and looked at Koharu sadly. He and Koharu had spent many years together from their time as a genin team to advisors to the Hokage. If only the Hokage listened to his advice, then perhaps things wouldn't have had to turn out this way. "If we are going to fight, then we had better do it. We will do no one any good by waiting around." He wanted to stall for as long as possible, but the logical side of him told him it would be pointless. He couldn't care about his feelings right now. He just had to be effective.

"I suppose you're right, Homura-kun." Koharu ran a hand through her hair, pulling it over to the side. She kept an eye on Homura as she flicked her hairpin with her left hand. While Homura had been talking, she had placed a small genjutsu over her hairpin to make it temporarily invisible. Homura felt a small prick around his collarbone and a small frown crossed his face. The feeling was similar to being stung by a bee or being pricked by a thorn. Homura grasped at the air around his chest when his fingers ran into the small pin. He yanked out the pin and sent out a small pulse of chakra, forcing the genjutsu to disappear.

His eyes widened behind his glasses, and he turned to stare at Koharu. The old woman had a mischievous look on her face as she said, "You were the one who told me to get started." Homura cursed and slammed his hand back against the wall, planting a small black seal. He rolled over to the side as a bolt of white lightning shot out of the seal. Koharu leaped out of the way as the bolt crashed into the ground behind her.

"Kai!" She yelled, clapping her hands together. Homura hunched over as a jolt of pain made its way up his back. All the years of no training came back to bite him as he forced himself up from the ground. He shunshined farther along the wall and planted one seal after another until there were four seals actively firing lightning bolts. Koharu shunshined after Homura and swiped his legs out from under him. She snatched her pin from his fingers and was about to move out of the way when Homura rolled out of the way to reveal a seal.

Koharu's eyes widened as lightning shot up towards her head. She grunted as the lightning scorched against her cheek, searing her skin. She could smell burnt flesh as she backed away. The old woman clapped a hand against her cheek and mumbled, "Blast these old bones of mine." She shot away again as another bolt came diving towards her. Koharu eyed the seals on the wall before looking back to Homura. She dug out a few of the senbon Anko had given her on their way to the room and flung them at Homura. Homura dodged out of the way and let the four seals on the wall fire simultaneously. Two of the seals on the wall faded away as they ran out of chakra, and Homura knew he had to act quickly. He ran alongside the lightning and as Koharu dodged, Homura was there to kick her in the stomach.

Koharu flew across the room and slammed into a wall. In a moment, Homura was there and pressing a kunai against her throat. "It's over, Koharu-san." Homura felt a moment's hesitation overtake him as he raised up his kunai. He knew that either he would end up killing her or she would be killed over the rebellion was over, but they had spent so many years together. Was it really possible for him to end it all just like that?

Koharu stared back at him blankly before a small smile spread across her face. "It's never over until the last ninja has lost hope." A puff of smoke filled the air, and Homura started as Koharu's skin suddenly vanished from beneath his fingers. That was when it suddenly struck him. He hadn't smelt the burn on Koharu's cheek. He whirled around just as Koharu stabbed down with her hairpin. The tip punctured through Homura's left shoulder, and Koharu gave a sad smile. "I'm sorry, Homura-kun. Kai."

Homura's mouth was wide open in a silent scream as he fell down to the ground, clutching at his chest. His eyes were clenched shut, and he reached a feeble hand to try and jerk the pin out only to have Koharu kick his hand away. He looked up at Koharu one last time and watched as his former teammate shook her head before falling to the ground unconscious.

Koharu glanced to the side to see the remaining black seals disappearing off the wall. She closed her eyes and shook her head. "You're a sorry old fool, Homura-kun. Why won't you ever share your worries with those around you? Then maybe this never would have had to happen..."

**Author's Note: As you probably noticed, this chapter was uploaded on Sunday, not Saturday. After the feedback I got last week, I've decided that the update time for Team Tsume will be between Saturday and Sunday. I'm sorry that I can't give you an exact time for when each chapter will be up, but I'm going to try and get them done on either one of those two days. Thanks for your support! **

**(If you find any spelling or grammar mistakes in this chapter, let me know!)**


	46. Helplessness Induces Hopelessness

Loss of hope rather than loss of life is what decides the issues of war. But helplessness induces hopelessness.  
**-B. H. Liddell Hart**

Chapter 45: Helplessness induces Hopelessness

"**Fuuton: Shinkuugyoku**!" Anko cursed as seven bolts of wind shot towards her. She sprung backwards just in time as the jutsu sliced the air beneath her. Anko grunted as she landed on the ground again, sprinting towards Danzo. The old man just never gave up! Anko had hoped that the decades Danzo had spent in the office would have lowered his stamina, if only slightly, but it seemed that it was not the case. Anko dropped to the ground and rolled out of the way as a shower of kunai flew above her. The snake around her torso hissed angrily as Anko's weight dropped down onto it.

"Not my problem, Tamotsu! I'm a bit busy!" Anko snapped at the summon. Anko snagged another senbon out of her pouch and hurled it at Danzo. She forced back the pit in her stomach as she charged towards Danzo, preparing to use Sen'eijashu. Her senbon pouch had felt abnormally thin. Anko almost didn't want to count the senbon in her pocket because she knew it would only stilt her movements. She couldn't have more than ten left at the very most. Anko wasn't sure what she would do when she ran out of senbon. Most of the senbon she had thrown were embedded in the wall in small clumps of three or four. It would take time to yank them out, time that she didn't have right now.

Suddenly, a tiny flash of red caught Anko's eye, and she fell flat as Koharu's hairpin skimmed perilously close to her neck. "Oi! Watch where you're throwing that thing!" Anko yelled as she got back up on her feet. Luckily, Danzo had been as surprised to see the hairpin as Anko had been. Danzo leaped out of the way, but the hairpin barely managed to slice into his cheek. Danzo grunted as a trail of blood trickled down his cheek. He had to end this battle quickly. He had taken far too long to defeat Anko, well over five minutes, and the lapse gave Homura the opportunity to die on him.

Homura wasn't a vital piece to his plan, but his presence had helped to smooth over the civilian conversion. Ever since Homura had retired from his ninja duties, the civilians had grown to see him as one of their own rather than "just another ninja." Danzo was loathe to admit it, but it would have been difficult to sway the civilian populace to join his side without Homura's help. However, now that they already sided with him, Danzo knew they would be too stubborn to switch sides. The loss was still regrettable though.

Danzo jumped into the air just as three snakes went spiraling beneath him. Anko shunshined beneath him, and the two snakes on her shoulders hissed violently at him before flexing their fangs. "**Fuuton: Shikuujin**." Danzo spat out a glob of chakra onto one of his kunai and slashed the air before him. The chakra slammed into the flying venom, splattering it across the room. Anko flitted in and out of the droplets as she raced for where she knew Danzo was about to land. "**Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu**!" Fire spewed out of Anko's mouth and stormed towards Danzo. The fire exploded as it crashed against the ground, engulfing Danzo in flames. Anko breathed heavily as she watched the flames with hawk-like eyes. It couldn't be over that easily, could it? "Hmph."

Anko's eyes widened, and she whirled around just in time to stare Danzo in the eyes. "What the?" Anko barely got the words out before Danzo's fist slammed into her face, sending her careening back into a wall. The wall cracked beneath her as she slipped down to the ground, gasping for breath. Anko yelled at her body to move, but it was too late. Danzo shunshined towards her, kunai in hand, and stabbed through the snake binding her wound and into her chest. Anko bowed her head low as she tried to hold back the pain that was begging to make its way out.

"Mitarashi-san!" Koharu shunshined towards Anko and flicked her hairpin at Danzo, only for him to dodge out of the way. Koharu's eyes widened. Danzo had seen through the genjutsu so easily? That was when she saw the eye. "You... how?" Koharu stuttered out. Danzo took the opportunity and moved towards her, kicking at her stomach. Koharu ducked out of the way and stabbed at Danzo with a concealed kunai. Danzo's hand flashed out and caught her hand by the wrist. He yanked her closer and twirled her around before pinning her down to the ground. Koharu tried to escape, but it was no use. A second later, she felt the ice of metal against her neck. Her breath hitched in her throat.

Above her, Danzo sighed and shook his head. "So the woman got to see what she wanted after all... At least she won her little bet. I am sure it will console her after she is dead." Danzo snorted. "I'm afraid that you have seen it as well. It's a pity. You could have been useful if you had only chosen to side with us." Koharu blocked Danzo's words out of her mind as she tried to comprehend what she had seen. How on earth did Danzo have the Sharingan? He didn't have an ounce of Uchiha blood in him, and it was well known that Itachi had gouged out the eyes of his family when he left Konoha. Unless...

"You fool," Koharu growled. "If Konoha knew that you took the Uchiha eyes, then you wouldn't survive the day. You, of all people, should know how rarely secrets stay secret. One day, your followers will realize what you have done, whether I live to see it or not." Koharu winced as the kunai dug deeper into her neck. "You won't win. There are others that will take up the fight after I am gone. It was my duty as an advisor to make sure that the genin of Konoha were reared strong. If I have succeeded at anything, I have succeeded at that. It seems that my duty is over now, and they will have to take over for me."

Danzo let out a barking laugh. "You have become brave in your final moments. If only your words were worth something, then perhaps you would die in peace." Danzo sliced into Koharu's throat before stepping away. As Koharu's life trickled into the stone, she gave Danzo one last hateful stare before her world fell into black.

Danzo glanced over towards Anko who was still pinned to the wall by his kunai. Anko glared at him venomously, each breath sending a jolt of pain up her side. "I'll kill you," she growled. Danzo quirked an eyebrow as Anko tried to lift a hand to pull the kunai out of her chest. Each time she tried to move her shaking hand, she only failed. Anko let out a scream of frustration and a tear slipped down her cheeks. Danzo exhaled, and said, "I shall allow you one minute to think of your final words before I put you out of your misery. You have done well in lasting so long against me, so I shall grant you that. Think of it as my mercy."

Anko spat before Danzo's feet and hissed, "Mercy? I don't think you even know the meaning of the blasted word. I hope you rot in hell." Danzo snorted and shook his head.

"You should not insult the one who holds your life in his hands." Danzo twirled the red-coated kunai in his hands before fling it at Anko's chest. Anko gasped in pain and bowed her head tightly to her chest, trying not to make a sound. Danzo stared at Anko a moment longer before her body sagged, and she went limp.

Danzo looked at her for a few moments longer before he turned away and walked towards Orochimaru. It had been over ten minutes since Ino had entered Orochimaru's mindspace. Normally, it took a Yamanaka five minutes or less to probe a mind and return with information. If Ino was stuck inside Orochimaru for ten minutes, it meant that she had run into trouble or she was less talented than Danzo had assumed. And since Danzo was rarely ever wrong, Danzo could only wonder what was going on inside of Orochimaru's mind.

-TSUME-

It was dark, very dark. Ino reached out blindly as she walked around Orochimaru's mind. Ino didn't consider herself a professional at mind probing, but she knew enough to say that this wasn't supposed to be happening. She was supposed to be projected into a large hallway with hundreds of doors leading off to certain memories. Instead, she was stuck in some black pit with no clue where she was going. "Oh come on! Why isn't there **ANYTHING!**" Ino's yell echoed around the emptiness, and Ino felt sadness well up in her chest. She dropped down onto her knees and hugged her chest tightly.

She hated mind probing. She hated being a place where she was unwelcome, unwanted. Whether it was at the Academy or in her team, it was all the same to her. She had thought that the rebellion would be the end of her being left out, Danzo had even called her necessary one time, but she was wrong. And here she was again, in the mind of an S-class criminal that certain didn't want her walking inside of his mind. Ino shuddered as she thought about what would happen if Orochimaru's mind stumbled upon her while she was inside of his head.

Ino got up onto her feet and clapped her cheeks soundly. "I can't sit around here and let him find me. I have to keep going." Ino broke off into a run, blindly running ahead into the black. If she ran into something, then she would have at least found a wall which was a good start. Ino ran for what seemed like hours before she finally saw a sparkle of light in the distance. Ino held a hand over her eyes as she made her way closer to the light. As she came closer and closer to the light, the sound of her footsteps changed. Instead of the barely audible clicks of her shoes against the ground, she heard her feet thumping along the pavement.

As Ino reached the light, her eyes frantically searched the area, wary of Orochimaru. Instead of seeing the pale-skinned man, she saw a broken, empty hall. Black marble stretched out beneath her and crawled up the walls, enclosing her. A few squares along the ceiling let in the sun's rays while columns held the roof in its place. Green vines covered the black stone, making the pillars more green than black. Ino walked down the empty hall with a hand covering her nose. The room smelled musty with age, and Ino knew that Orochimaru hadn't visited the room for a long time.

As she walked down to the end of the hall, she looked around for any signs of why the room had been abandoned. And then, she saw why. The corpse of a woman that Ino might have once called beautiful was strewn against the ground. Tears paused midway down her pale face, frozen in Orochimaru's memories. Her long black hair was draped along her back as she clawed at the ground. Behind the woman, a blonde man was propped up against the wall with a kunai sticking out of his forehead. Ino's eyes flicked up to the eye-catching red words painted above the man's head. "Father," she whispered softly. Her eyes flicked back to the woman that she knew had to be his mother.

Ino bowed her head slightly, offering a silent prayer to the fallen. She straightened herself awkwardly and looked from the bodies to an oak door just a little ways away. "I'll be going now," Ino said hesitantly before speed-walking away from the two. She pulled open the door and stepped through it before closing the door a little too fast. The blonde leaned up against the door and gave a sigh. She didn't know that it was possible, but she almost felt a little bad for Orochimaru. His parents didn't look too old, so they must have died while he was still young. Ino stared down at the ground, briefly wondering if her father and mother were still alive. She hadn't seen much of the rebellion, and she hadn't heard any news of her father's death. She didn't know whether that was a good thing or a bad thing because it kept her wondering.

Ino wandered down the narrow hallway, glancing from door to door. Since she was looking for a particular piece of information, it would give off signals if she came nearby. None of the doors showed any signs of the mental waves, so she passed them by without a thought. Seconds turned to minutes as she made her way through Orochimaru's mind. Suddenly, Ino stopped midstep and stared at a pool of red that was seeping out from one of the doors. She moved to walk around it when she felt a tingle in her forehead. Ino let out a groan. It couldn't be... could it?

Ino took a step closer to the door, dipping her shoes in the blood, before resting her hand on the wood. A jolt of energy shot up her arm, and Ino knew it was the right place. Her shoulders slumped. This was ominous. She hadn't even entered the room, and it already appeared to be a place of death. A moment's hesitation gripped her, and Ino almost stepped away from the room when a warning signal flashed in her head. Ino whipped around as thunder boomed throughout the mindspace. "But how?" Ino yelped in surprise.

Someone else had entered Orochimaru's mindspace. Oh shoot, oh shoot. Ino's hand snatched the door handle and yanked it open before slamming the door behind her. If someone was in here, it meant that she was either incredibly late and Danzo had found someone else to complete the mission, something she found highly unlikely given the circumstances, or someone was here to stop her mission. Either way, it was not a good situation to be in.

Ino looked up from the ground to see bookcases lining the room. A dim green light shone in the room, giving the room a sinister color. Small pots dotted the shelves, and Ino moved closer to one before stepping back. A floating eye stared back at her, causing Ino to shudder. What kind of place was this? "Well, well, look what we have here?" A chill ran up Ino's back. There shouldn't be another living person in here other than Orochimaru and the intruder. The intruder couldn't have found her this quickly so... Ino turned her head slowly backwards, coming face to face with Orochimaru. His white skin accentuated his piercing yellow eyes, catching the breath in Ino's chest. Ino's mind went into overdrive. She had to get out of here. A voice in the back of her mind told her to look for the information before escaping. Ino didn't feel like complying, but...

"I don't appreciate it when people wander into my mind. For this, you must die!" Ino dove out of the way as Orochimaru slammed into the bookcase, shattering one of the jars. Ino jumped up from the ground and bolted through the laboratory, speeding up when she heard Orochimaru's scream of frustration. A long table stood beside her, carrying various beakers and vials bubbling over with chemicals that she knew not. She snatched two of the beakers off the table as she ran past and chucked them behind her. The glass smashed into the ground, and Orochimaru swerved out of the way to avoid the concoction.

Ino continued grabbing various vials and throwing them behind her, acutely aware of the fact that invaders couldn't use chakra inside of someone else's mindspace. "**Sen'ei Tajashu**." Ino squealed as she rolled under the table to the other side of the room just as dozens of snakes bit into the ground where she once stood. As she forced herself up from the ground, Ino's gaze caught the dark blue cover of a book resting atop the table. A flash of recognition hit her, and Ino realized that it had to contain the information she was looking for.

Ino sprinted up from the ground and snatched the book off the table. She immediately started flipping through pages as she continued to zig-zag along her side of the room. "Come on, come on! Got it!" Ino exclaimed as she flipped two a page containing scrawled notes and diagrams. Behind her, Orochimaru hissed and shunshined towards her, grabbing her by the neck. Ino gasped as the book dropped from her grasp, and she clawed at the hands around her neck.

The world seemed to get faint around her as she couldn't force any air into her lungs. Would she lose her consciousness forever inside of Orochimaru? Ino's hands dropped down by her side just as the door at the end of the hall slammed open. Teru burst into the room, slamming the door into the wall. Orochimaru started in surprise, his grip weakening slightly. Ino took the opportunity to squirm out of his grip and fling one of the syringes on the table. The needle pricked his skin, and Orochimaru hissed as he jerked it out. "Move!" Teru yelled as he pulled on one of the long bookcases. Ino's eyes widened as she snatched the book from the ground and dashed out of the way. Orochimaru moved to follow her, but he was caught by the tumbling bookcase.

Teru leaped on top of the fallen bookcase and ran towards Ino, who was reading the book feverishly. She closed her eyes and chanted the information in her head, willing herself to remember everything that was in the book. When she opened her eyes, Teru was in front of her, his arm reaching out towards her. His fingers tapped her in the forehead, and Ino let out a cry as the ground seemed to vanish beneath her. She was being forced out of Orochimaru's system.

-TSUME-

Ino's body lurched back from Orochimaru, falling to the ground. Beside her, Teru groaned as he receded back into his mind. He couldn't believe that he had actually succeeded. Teru shook his head as he tried to clear his mind. He pushed off the ground and stood up onto his feet. "Mitaraishi-san, Utatane-san, I did it!" Teru said excitedly as he turned around. When he saw the sight before him, his face went a deathly pale.

Danzo stood before him, staring him directly in the eyes. Teru let out an unmanly squeal and jumped back, bumping into Orochimaru, who was still strapped to the chair. He glanced past Danzo and saw Anko's body leaning against the wall. Teru swallowed nervously. If Anko was down, then he assumed Koharu had been defeated as well since there wasn't a fight going on. And if both of them had been defeated, there was no way he would stand a chance against Danzo.

Teru fumbled for a kunai and held it out in front of him like a protective charm. He trembled in fear as he tried to think of how he could escape, but he could find nothing. Danzo rushed forward and stabbed him in the chest, and Teru's kunai clattered to the ground. Danzo shoved Teru forward, sending him falling back against the wall.

Danzo frowned slightly. Defeating a defenseless and terrified child left an ill taste in his mouth, even if his purpose was good. "Nngh?" Danzo's eyes flicked over towards Ino, who blinked her eyes open. Instinctively, Danzo snapped his left eye shut, hiding the Sharingan from view. "Where am... Oh wait, I remember." Ino sat herself up and rubbed her eyes wearily. When she took in the scene around her, she jumped in surprise. She stared at Danzo with incredulous blue eyes and opened her mouth to say something before closing it again, thinking better of saying anything.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" Danzo demanded.

"I did," Ino said hesitantly. "But are you sure that you want-"

Danzo cut Ino off as he snapped, "Of course, I am. Why do you think I have spent months in preparation for this moment? I wouldn't back of this now that we have come so far. There is no turning back, Yamanaka-san. Remember that." Ino gulped and nodded hurriedly. Danzo's eyes softened slightly, and he said, "You have done well." Ino visibly brightened at that. Ino got up off the ground and brushed herself off quickly. "Follow me." Danzo turned and lead Ino towards the exit when suddenly, the door to the room snapped open.

Asuma hurried into the room, panting. He propped himself up on his knees as he heaved in and out, "I- I got the scroll." Asuma's body shook with exhaustion. After being forced into a corner, he was forced to search the Forbidden Scroll for any jutsu that he could use to escape. He found one, but it required a massive chakra drain. Asuma wasn't sure he would have been able to do it if he had used an ounce more of chakra in any of his earlier battles. The jutsu was a variation of the Fuuton: Shinkuugyoku, but it quintupled the amount of wind blades created at a single moment. The barrier snapped under the strain of the jutsu, but it took Asuma all he had to sprint away before the Suna ninja found him. Asuma shook his head and sighed. It would do him now good to think about it now. He had completed his mission, and that was enough. Asuma took the large scroll off of his back and held it out in front of him.

Danzo eyed the scroll before saying, "Put it back on and follow me. We must make haste if we are to complete this mission. We have already wasted enough time as it is." Danzo stepped around Asuma and down into the tunnels, his shoes clacking along the floor. Ino and Asuma met eyes, and they both shared a look of despair before turning to follow Danzo.

The trio quickly navigated their way through the dark halls. Finally, Ino gathered enough courage to ask, "Where are we going?" The look that Danzo gave her in return was enough to make her squeak. Danzo shook his head and turned away, continuing his walk.

"We are going to the underground detention cells," he said simply. "There is a special patient that we must meet there."

Asuma scrunched his face up. "What patient? I don't recall that many people being kept down here. They are either criminals or they have been labeled dangerous to society. Neither are people that we want on our side." Danzo rubbed his forehead.

"It is not necessary for me to detail my plan to you, but I suppose I will if it consoles you at all. I plan to meet with Haruno Sakura."

**Author's Note: The rebellion is about to reach its climax! Most of the small battle scenes have been completed, and from here on out, the real meat of the rebellion shall begin. Team Tsume will end in approximately three chapters, so I hope you stick with the story until the very end! ^^ Thank you so much for your continued support! **


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